Rice Krispies Treat Earth
My son's 6th grade science class learned about planet Earth. He had a wonderful time learning about the inner core and outer core, the mantle and of course the crust. When his teacher asked them to create a model of the planet, of course he came home saying, "I want to make mine edible!
Let’s make the globe
I don't know if there's anyone out there that doesn't know how to make a Rice Krispies treat!! It almost seems like a right of passage to learn to make these crunchy sweet snacks. But, when Xander and I went to make them I realized with all the cake baking I do, we don't make things other than cake that often. I've used them for cake accents and modeling, but it is rare that we have them for the family to eat. We chatted and thought we may have made some for a ski race a couple years back. Anyway, we did know how to make them and we loosely followed the recipe on the back of the box. We chose the stove top version and knew we had to make many batches, each a different color for the different layers of the earth. Here are some fun variations on Rice Krispy Treats if you want to venture beyond the box!
It’s a Messy Job!
Xander figured out pretty quickly that he'd have to get his hands dirty. We also had to be careful not to make the inner core to large, as each layer that went around it would need to be successively larger. The slide show below takes you through the entire process.
Make your continents
No earth would be complete without LAND! Xander was SO excited to be allowed to use my fondant. He carefully rolled out the green fondant and affixed it to his now blue sphere! He also decided to cut a slice out of the earth to label all the layers. His Rice Krispies Treat Earth was complete! He couldn't wait to bring it to class.
You can make your own marshmallow fondant or buy prepared fondant. If you choose to buy prepared fondant, two of my favorites are:
Enticing the class
There would be projects made from pizza and cake and cookies and goodness knows what else. After he finished his Rice Krispies Treat Earth, Xander tackled the next problem. "How to get kids to vote for his?" Apparently there was a contest of sorts and some peer rating in the class. "Samples." Yes, that's what Xander decided. He'd bring a tray of samples for his class. He didn't try to make complete little models, instead selecting what he thought was the most interesting piece: the core! He added a marshmallow on the top for flair and a warning sign that the sample was HOT! It was fun to hear all about the parade of projects that night! There were indeed pizzas, real globes cut apart to show the interior, cakes and a host of other things. It is always awesome when a hands on project is successful for the fun of creating and the learning that goes with it. The kids had a wonderful, celebratory day enjoying their projects in the classroom.