“I remember seeing fossils in a rock column by my great grandpa’s house, and as a child they looked like screws,” said Cheryl McClease, instructor of geography, geology and planning.
She later found out they were crinoids, an ancient animal similar to starfish. Today, they exist only as fossils.
“I was so excited to learn about the big why about how the world works; earth science answers those questions.”
McClease paired her experience as a home economics teacher with that love for science to develop “Earth Changing Recipes.” This cookbook corresponds recipes with earth science lessons helping students delve deeper while in the kitchen.
Education and earth cakes
It was a family project to compile this book. McClease wrote it while her sister, an English professor, edited. Her daughter put her graphic design skills to use in the photography and design of the book, using the grandchildren as models for the book. Each page has a geology lesson that directly relates to a recipe.
To teach about the New Madrid earthquake of 1811-1812, McClease developed the recipe for Mississippi Mud-Cake to help students learn more about the earthquake. The earthquake rang bells as far as Boston, Massachusetts, and the recipe is a hit 200 years later.
For more information, contact McClease at 417-836-5801.