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Here's a fun cooking activity for early learners that I did some years back in Carnegie Science Center's Kitchen Theater.  I did it at home last year with my 5-year old on the night of the eclipse. They go wild over these and really catch on to the idea of a passing shadow. (At home, I cheated and used dough in a tube.) It was funny, they wouldn't even eat them until they had rearranged and put the cookies in order.


Eclipse Cookies
Make an observation sheet (a sheet with a bunch of circles and spaces for times).  Have the children observe throughout the evening coloring where the shadow falls within the circle and noting the time.  Bake circular sugar cookies.  With stencil, fill sprinkles in where the progression of shadows would be.  Then compare to their observation sheet and write times on each cookie with squeezy icing.  Oh yeah, then EAT! yum. (Recipe below.)

Lynn Parrucci
Director of Education-Group Programs
Philadelphia Zoo
3400 Girard Avenue
Philadelphia, PA 19083
Phone: 215-243-5243
Fax:  215-243-5385
Email: [log in to unmask]

Basic Sugar Cookie Recipe
1 cup  sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 2/3 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
Blue or chocolate sprinkles
One circle cookie cutter (can be jar lid)
Make circle stencil same size.

Make cookies: Beat butter and sugar in large bowl until fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla. Sift flour, baking powder, and salt. Stir. Turn dough out onto lightly floured surface and knead slightly until it can form shape. Divide and wrap in plastic and refrigerate at least 2 hours. 

Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 350°F. Grease or butter large baking sheet. Roll  dough on lightly floured surface to 1/8-inch thickness. Cut out cookies. Pull away excess dough from around cookies. Transfer cookies to prepared baking sheet, spacing 1 inch apart (cookies will not spread). Use circle stencil to add sprinkles in various portions to represent eclipse shadow.

Bake cookies until light brown, about 11 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes on sheet. Transfer cookies to rack; cool. 

Repeat with remaining dough pieces, baking 1 sheet of cookies at a time.


  

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