Taste Relays

Health Literacy
Time 30 minutes
Age 7-10
Group Size
Tags Directions, Flavor, Game,   more...
Games Senses Taste

How smart is your tongue?

Learning how to read and share directions is a critical skill for children to learn—it develops communication skills, descriptive vocabulary, and teaches children to emphasize those points that will help a listener follow ideas and concepts.

Preparation

  1. Set up 2 taste stations for each team with the above materials.  Cutting the fruits and veggies should not take too long. You only need a little bit for the children to taste.  See below for suggestions of foods to use.Suggested taste combinations:
    – Grapes and cherry tomatoes
    – Apple and potato slices
    – Orange and grapefruit slices
    – Lemon and lime slices
  2. With masking tape, create a start line. The finish line will be where the taste stations are.
  3. Have a teacher at each taste station to help the kids with writing their guesses and keeping the relay moving.
  4. Write out directions on 2 index cards and place at each station.  The directions should read:

– I am going to choose something for you to taste.
– First you need to put your blindfold on and hold your nose.
– When I give you the piece of food you can taste it and guess what it is.
– I will write down your guesses.
– If you make two wrong guesses, unplug your nose and try again.

Taste Relays
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Suggested Materials

  • Bowls with pieces of fruits and veggies that are similar in texture but different in taste (see Suggestions in the “Make it Better” step)
  • Blindfolds
  • Index cards with directions written on them
  • Masking tape
  • Paper and Pencils
1

Make it Matter

Opening Discussion

Ask your students if they’ve ever had a cold that clogged up their noses. When they ate food, were they able to taste it as well?

The Challenge

See if your team has the fastest taste buds around!

2

Make it Happen

Doing the Activity

  1. Divide the group into two teams.
  2. Have each team line up behind the start line.
  3. Use a whistle or call “on your mark, get set, go” to start the game.
  4. Two children from each team will run to the taste stations. One child will put on a blindfold and hold his/her nose. The other child will read the directions on the card.
  5. The program leader should make sure the kids read the directions and write down the guesses.
  6. After a correct guess is given, the child takes the blindfold off, leave it at the station, and the pair should race back to the starting line to tag the next pair.
  7. After all the pairs have guessed correctly, the game is over.
3

Make it Click

Let’s Talk About It

After your students have played the game once, bring them together to have a quick discussion. Was it easy or hard to tell what they were eating? Would it be easier if they weren’t holding their nose? What are some other foods they might pair up to try out? This discussion should last no more than a few minutes.

4

Make it Better

Build On What They Talked About

If you have some more foods that they haven’t tried, let them play again. You could also have them play with their noses unplugged and talk afterward about how it was different the second time they played.

Suggestions

  • If you don’t have time to pick up the fruits and veggies, you can do this same activity with different flavored jelly beans or hard candies.
  • If you are working with younger children and/or you prefer not to have this activity be a team race, you can change this game by grouping your students in pairs and asking the reader to pick two “matched” foods (ex. apple and potato), tell the taster what two foods they are trying, and then have the taster guess which is which.
  • Did you know there is an official Sense of Smell Day in April? Visit the Sense of Smell Institute’s website for information and more activities.
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