Hi, you're listening to Cultivate
Curiosity, a.
Podcast that inspires the next generation
to stay curious.
Cultivate Curiosity is brought to you by
the Emerald Coast Science Center, a
nonprofit.
Interactive science museum and steam
educational facility in Fort Walton Beach,
Florida.
This podcast is perfect for anyone curious
about the world we live in, because.
You never know what we'll talk about
next.
Hi, my name is Jacie and I'm
the social media coordinator at the
Emerald Coast Science Center.
Hi, I'm Diane, and I'm the director.
And today's topic for our cultivate
curiosity podcast is Winter Wonderland. So
we're going to discuss all things winter,
the winter solstice, upcoming winter
events that we have here at the
Science Center. Hot Cocoa Science so much
to unpack in one episode. First, let's
enjoy some hot cocoa in honor of
today being National Hot Cocoa Day.
National Hot Cocoa Day is celebrated on
December 13 of every year. Chocolate has
a long and ancient history. The first
origins of cocoa can be traced back
to 5000 years ago. Archaeologists believe
that this is only as early as
we can trace it, so it may
even be older. Of course, the chocolate
back then was much different from what
we consume now, as sugar was still
scarce. The beverage was flavored with
vanilla chili and was even served
throughout the year. It was reportedly
more popular during the Olmec period where
it was used for spiritual praying. It
was once used as a trade currency
in pre-Columbian Mesoamerica.
It first was found by European explorers
in South America, where it had already
been enjoyed for hundreds of years before
the arrival of the Europeans. Not only
that, but it was the Spaniards who
first found the flavor unpleasant and
declared it bitter. In fact, chocolate
became an inquired taste. It would not
be until it was introduced to Europe
and adopted as a luxury drink of
the wealthy that it would be sweetened.
This led to the invention of milk
chocolate. It wouldn't be until 1828 that
powdered chocolate would be available for
consumption. Soon after this, the
chocolate bar and instant hot cocoa came
into existence. The three prominent
varieties of cocoa plants are Forastero,
Trinitario, and Criollo. Forastero is a
commonly used variant that contributes to
up to 90% of the world's cocoa
production. Trinitario originated from
Trinidad and is a hybrid variety of
cocoa. Criollo is prone to diseases and
less common. It is mostly cultivated
mainly by Venezuela. Trinitario is
foremost in quality, and when compared to
the other two varieties, it produces
higher yields due to its disease resistant
nature.
My husband and I were listening to
this podcast about people going into South
America and into the rainforest and
searching for these single variety cocoa
plants and making these super bougie
chocolates out of them. So they were
kind of comparing it to how wine
has a terra, which is like the
wine has the flavor of the ground
that it was grown in. And all
of that stuff. So it's the same
type of thing, except they're talking
about these cacao plants, where the
chocolate comes from. So it's really,
really super interesting to.
Hear them talk where it's from.
Exactly.
Different.
Yes, exactly. And how they were creating
these quote unquote single vineyard
chocolates based on the fact of where
they were located within the geographical
regions. So a couple of ways that
you can celebrate National Cocoa Day drink
some hot cocoa. No National Cocoa Day
is complete without enjoying a cup of
this delicious drink. Make a cup of
cocoa the way you like it and
enjoy it. Try using hot cocoa bombs.
If you're an ambitious hot cocoa fan,
try your hand at making hot cocoa
bombs. Hot cocoa bombs are chocolate
spheres made with cocoa, marshmallows and
other ingredients. It's a unique way to
enjoy cocoa. Take your hot cocoa game
to the next level by experimenting with
different toppings. Marshmallows, candy
canes, caramel and toffees are only some
of the toppings that will make your
drink extra delicious. If you're not a
candy fan, try cinnamon, allspice nutmeg,
or add almond flavoring to the cocoa.
And I can tell you, for the
over 21 crowd, my personal hot chocolate
additions include Fireball or Bailey's.
Fireball for the cinnamon, you said? Yes.
Yeah, Fireball for the cinnamon. And you
don't got to put a lot in
it's, just enough to kind of give
it a little bit of a different
flavor. And then also creme de menthe.
Yeah.
So that sort of gives you kind
of like a little peppermint cocoa. So
again, over 21. Yes. For the adults
in the room.
So talking about hot cocoa day. If
you're interested in learning more about
it, check out our Curiosity live from
last week on Instagram. Calli talks about
the science behind making the perfect cup
of hot cocoa with Rosie the Elf.
Do you know who Rosie the Elf
is? If you don't, we have our
own Rosie, who is named after the
British explorer and polar adventure Rosie
Stancer. So you can see all the
amazing things that she gets up to
here at the Science Center on our
Instagram, and she's part of both of
our Curiosity lives this month, which the
next one is with Harley, and it'll
be about wintertime birds that visit our
area, so don't miss that one.
So the other holiday that we want
to talk about and celebrate in this
podcast is the winter solstice, and this
falls on December 21. The winter solstice
is the two months during the year
when the path of the sun in
the sky is the farthest south from
the northern hemisphere, which falls on
December 21 or 22nd, and the furthest
north in the southern hemisphere, which is
June 20 or 21st. At the winter
solstice, the sun travels the shortest
path through the sky, and that day,
therefore, has the least daylight and the
longest night. According to the
astronomical definition of the seasons.
The Winter solstice also marks the
beginning of the season of winter, which
lasts until the vernal equinox, which is
March 20 or 21st in the Northern
Hemisphere, or September 22 or 23rd in
the Southern Hemisphere. In the lead up
to the winter solstice, the days become
shorter and shorter. After the winter
solstice, the days become increasingly
long leading up to the summer solstice,
which is the longest day of the
year. Ways you can celebrate the winter
solstice are read winter solstice books.
The Shortest Day, written by Susan Cooper,
is a good one for younger children
and their families. Enjoy the short
daylight. We only have about seven to
8 hours of daylight on the winter
solstice. Join the Science Center for
winter fun for everyone and explore the
museum on that day.
So if you're looking for fun ways
to celebrate the holiday season or even
the Winter solstice, we have our Winter
fun for Everyone activities from December
20 through 22nd, and then again December
27 through 29th, which there's new
activities each day, so there'll be
something for your whole family to enjoy.
So we'll just real quick go through
what's happening.
Okay, so on December 20, we're going
to have a Creature feature at 12:30
P.m., and this is a great opportunity
to safely interact with our animals and
learn about the creatures that call the
museum home in these fun presentations.
And then December 21, we have the
Col-AR, so like color, but AR
you can color. The holidays from 10:30
a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Bring holiday images
to life. Our Augmented Reality Coloring
Technology creates an engaging immersive
coloring experience for young and old
alike. We also will have sciPad Winter
Games from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
and sciPad will just be open and
you can play. We have lots of
different winter games in there. And then
a Creature feature as well.
At 1:00 p.m. And on December 22,
we'll be doing 3D snowflakes from 10:30 a.m.
to 12:30 p.m. Let it snow. Create a
3D snowflake using our state of the
art 3D pens, combining art, science and
technology. This is a fun and engaging
activity for the whole family. And then
that afternoon we'll have sciPad Winter
Games from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m.
And then on December 27, we have
Winter Wildlife Wonderland from 10:30 a.m. To
12:30 p.m. So you'll step into this wonderland
as you explore blubber insulation, penguin
waterproofing, bird feeding and bear den
engineering, discovering the ingenious
ways animals conquer the cold, and we'll
also have a Creature feature at 01:00
p.m..
I think that's called Flannel pajamas.
Maybe we'll see. You'll have to come
and find out. And then December 28
we have Snowy Cotton Launchers from
10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. You'll unleash the Whimsy
with this adorable winter activity. Take
home your very own snowball launchers you
will make from toilet paper rolls and
then send Cotton ball flurries soaring in
a safe and delightful playtime experience
for all ages and sciPad Winter Games
from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m.
And then on December 29, we'll round
out the week with a Creature feature
at 10:30 a.m. And sciPad Winter Games
from 11 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Thank you
for listening to this week's episode of
Cultivate Curiosity. We hope you join us
for our Winter Fun for Everyone events
to celebrate the holiday season with us.
We'll be back in two weeks with
our last episode of 2023, where we
will share all the things we hope
to accomplish in 2024. Bye bye.
Thanks for listening to this week's
episode of Cultivate Curiosity.
If you have any questions, feel free
to email us at socialmedia@ecscience.org.
Tune in for our next episode in
two weeks.