Food Engineering Essay Contest
"We make realities out of our dreams and dreams out of our realities. We are the dreamers of the dream." - Roald Dahl (1916-1990), British author
Have children and youth think about food in a different way by entering the EngineerGirl! Food Engineering Essay Contest.
-The contest is open to boys and girls and essays are accepted in three categories. 
-For children in third- through fifth-grades, entrants submit an essay of no more than 500 words explaining how a food, such as apple sauce, peanut butter or spaghetti sauce, is produced and how engineers are a part of the process. 
-For children in sixth- through eighth-grades, the essay can be no more than 750 words and must meet the third- through fifth-grade requirements and also explain how a technology is important to the production and how it works.
-For ninth- through 12th-graders, the essay can be no more than 1,500 words. Entrants in this category must meet the six- through eighth-grade requirements and also include how an engineer contributed to the design of the technology and how engineers are improving the technology.
-Essays are due by March 1.
-To see the list of foods for essay topics, complete rules and prize list, go to www.engineergirl.org/?id=14100.
An Anytime Snack 
"Remember that wherever your heart is, there you will find your treasure." - Paulo Coelho, Brazilian author 
This recipe for breakfast bars from the Kids a Cookin' Web site, part of the K-State Research & Extension Family Nutrition Program, can be made on site for a mid-day snack if you have a microwave or made ahead of time and kept on hand for kids during the day. 
This recipe makes 16 bars. As with any food activity, make sure no one in your group has food allergies. 
You will need 6 tablespoons margarine; 3 cups miniature marshmallows; ½ cup peanut butter; ½ cup nonfat dry milk; ¼ teaspoon cinnamon; 1 cup raisins; and 4 cups oat cereal. 
Spray a 9X9X2 pan with cooking spray. 
In microwave, melt margarine in a large microwave-safe bowl at high power for 45 seconds to 1 minute, or until melted. 
Stir in peanut butter and marshmallows. 
Microwave the mixture again for 1 to 1½ minutes on high or until mixture is melted. Stir until smooth. 
Add remaining ingredients and stir until evenly coated. 
With buttered hands, pat mixture into pan. 
Let snack cool thoroughly and cut into squares. 
For more recipe ideas from Kids a Cookin' go to www.kidsacookin.ksu.edu/Site.aspx?page=Recipe_Category. 
Learning About Black Inventors
"Don't sit down and wait for the opportunities to come. Get up and make them." - Madam CJ Walker (1867-1919), entrepreneur who developed hair products for black women
In February, not many kids are thinking about playing with squirt guns. But as February is Black History Month in the U.S. and Canada, impress the kids with some interesting facts about black inventors.
For example, Lonnie Johnson, an aerospace engineer from Los Angeles, invented the Super Soaker in 1988. Johnson now runs his own company and has more than 80 patents to his name, but a powerful squirt gun is his most famous invention. Learn more about Johnson at www.johnsonrd.com/ie/lj/ljprofile.html.
Johnson's squirt gun is still going strong more than 20 years after it was introduced, but Garrett A. Morgan's contribution to society has a longer history.
After witnessing a traffic accident on a road, Morgan came up with the idea of a traffic signal to prevent collisions among cars, buggies and pedestrians. He was issued a patent in 1923. Learn more about Morgan's initial design at www.fhwa.dot.gov/education/gamorgan.htm.
Have the children in your program research a black inventor and present their findings to the group. Some Web sites that might help are:
www.black-collegian.com/african/inventions605.shtml (at this site, inventor's names will need to be entered into a search engine for more information)
www.black-inventor.com/Black-Inventors.asp
www.enchantedlearning.com/inventors/black.shtml
www.inventions.org/multi-cultural_center.html
http://inventors.about.com/od/blackinventors/a/Black_History.htm 
Educate Young Consumers
"Quality questions create a quality life. Successful people ask better questions, and as a result, they get better answers." - Anthony Robbins, motivational speaker
Help children learn to be informed consumers by engaging them in reading nutrition labels with this activity from Mixing in Math. Cereal boxes are a good place to start.
You will need six to 12 cereal boxes (they can be empty or full). Try to use brands that are likely to be familiar to the children and youth in your program. Cover the nutrition information on the side panel with a stick-on note.
To play, set out the boxes in random arrangement. Give everyone a chance to try putting the boxes in order from the one they think has the least sugar per serving to the one they think has the most.
When everyone has had a turn, let children take off the notes and read the nutrition information. As needed, show them where to find the sugar content listing on the label.
For discussion, ask: Do advertisers always want consumers to know how much sugar cereals contain? Why or why not? Does the picture on the box make you think the cereal is sugary? What about the name of the cereal?
Children might enjoy exploring just how much sugar is in other familiar foods. For instance, look at the nutrition labels on pickles and raisins or snack foods they like.
Consider doing this exercise to determine how much salt is in the food they eat.
For more ideas on combining math with everyday activities, go to http://mixinginmath.terc.edu/materials/actlist.cfm.
Indoors Fitness Fun
"Find fitness with fun dancing. It is fun and makes you forget about the dreaded exercise." - Paula Abdul, singer, dancer, choreographer
While much of the nation is experiencing a mild winter, it might still be too cold for some outdoor activities. Keep the kids moving indoors with these simple ideas from the Alliance for a Healthier Generation (http://healthiergeneration.org/parents.aspx?id=6032).
Moving to the beat: Play music and encourage the children to dance around.
Kangaroo jump: Tape a shoelace to the floor in a straight line. Have the children line up on one side of the shoelace and take turns jumping back and forth over the shoelace multiple times.
Indoors hoops: Set up a large box or trash can and use it as a basketball goal.
To learn more about the Alliance's programs, go to http://healthiergeneration.org/about.aspx?id=3437.
Doodle Time
"I begin with an idea and then it becomes something else." - Pablo Picasso (1881-1973)
Let children discover the fun of doodling with the annual Doodle 4 Google competition, which is accepting entries now.
Open to all U.S. students in kindergarten through 12th grade, this year's theme is "If I could travel in time, I'd visit ..."
Entry forms can be downloaded at www.google.com/doodle4google/info.html; contest rules, design guidelines and where to mail submissions can also be found there.
Entries must be received by March 23.
Entries will be judged by multiple grade categories and judging criteria will be artistic merit, creativity and how well the theme is communicated.
For more information on judging and prizes, go to www.google.com/doodle4google/judging_prizes.html. 
For more information on Google's competition, go to www.google.com/doodle4google/index.html.
Civic-Minded Fun
"Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country." - John F. Kennedy (1917-1963), 35th president of the United States
If your program site has access to the Internet, let the kids learn about the federal government with interactive games at Congress for Kids (www.congressforkids.net/).
Designed for fourth- through 12th-graders, the site features chapters on democracy, the Constitution, the three branches of government, elections and citizenship. In addition, there are quizzes, book recommendations and links to audio files, as well as opportunities to learn words and skills.
Congress for Kids is part of the Dirksen Congressional Center and is one of eight civics sites the center provides.
For more information about the Dirksen Center, go to www.dirksencenter.org/.
Making Flip Books
"From now on, I'll connect the dots my own way." - Bill Watterson
Let children create and share their own cartoon flip books with this activity from the Kidsworld Web site (www.kidzworld.com/article/6979-make-your-own-flipbook). 
The only materials needed are pads of paper, tape, and markers, pens or pencils.
Give each child a pad of paper (or have children create pads by giving each child several sheets of white paper folded and cut into 1/8-inch sheets and then having a staff member staple and tape at the top).
Ask each child to think of something simple they would like to make move in their flip book. Have children draw their selected image on the last page of the booklet.
As they repeat this image on the next page, they should just make a very tiny change to one part of the image to show movement. They should continue this process until all the pages have images.
For example, if a child chose to draw a person making a smile, he would draw the eyes and nose in the same manner on each page but would make very small changes to the mouth on each page.   
Once they are finished, the children can flip through the pages so that the images will appear to move. They can decorate their pages and share the books with each other.