Yesterday, senior secondary school students from around the country, participating in the University of Otago’s Hands-On Otago programme, tried their hands at chocolate making and came up with some concoctions you are very unlikely to see on a supermarket shelf.
Like purple chocolates with unicorn-dream filling and sprinkles.
If you have ever wondered what unicorn-dream filling tastes like, it is very similar to the flavour of bubblegum.
Hands-On Otago leader and University of Otago College of Education professional practice fellow Angela Miller said the students were thinking about training to be teachers next year, and the activity was designed to show them some of the things they taught education students during their degree.
"Today, we’re looking at chocolate-making from a technology education perspective.
"We’ve based it around Fashion iD, being a local Dunedin event, and we’re creating Dunedin or fashion-inspired chocolates that could be put in a goodie bag for that event.
"The students created their own chocolate moulds and made the Dunedin logo out of chocolate, Baldwin St, the university clock tower, penguins, albatrosses — they’re all really creative."
"It shows them what they could do in a classroom setting in the future, if they decide to become teachers."
She hoped the activity would be long finished before the sugar rush kicked in.
St Peter’s College (Gore) student Grace Milliken said it was interesting to see the thought processes that were needed to successfully teach others to carry out an activity.
"Usually we don’t think this far into it when we open a bar of chocolate.
"But when you are learning the process of how it is made and all the things you need to do to make sure it all goes right, it’s quite cool.
"It’s one of the things you need to learn to become a teacher, so you can pass that knowledge on to future generations."
She was among nearly 400 students from 205 secondary schools around New Zealand who joined the week-long immersive programme that gives year 12 and 13 students a taste of life at the University of Otago.
