Dandelion soda, habanero peppers flavor science expo at Evergreen

Nearly 50 people watched on a sunny Saturday as Cassidy Fritz showed them how to make homemade natural sodas, then offered samples including exotic flavors such as dandelion.

Fritz, 22, said she was inspired to make her own beverages after reading a book on the homemade root beer soda and pop process. She is a student at The Evergreen State College, one of many who delivered presentations Saturday as part of the eighth annual Evergreen Science Carnival and Research Exposition.

Elementary school students descended on the campus Friday as part of school field trips, while more children – this time with their parents – attended Saturday.

Over the two days, more than 150 science presentations were primarily presented throughout three buildings on campus, with an emphasis on hands-on activities.

Fritz showed how to make fermented sodas and also demonstrated a faster method using a machine that injects carbonation into the beverages. She has been studying the fermentation process as part of an Evergreen program called Food, Health and Sustainability.

Fritz, who is set to graduate next month, has studied psychology and biology, she said.

Among the other presentations were “Feel the Heat: Capsaicin and Your Nerves” and “Homemade Natural Soda.”

Student Alex Mutter-Rottmayer, 19, was part of the team that presented “Feel the Heat,” examining how the heat of a compound called capsaicin, found in bell, jalapeno and habanero peppers, can be neutralized with milk, but not with water.

Mutter-Rottmayer enjoys the practical application of science and is leaning toward studying physics, he said after his presentation.

A science carnival wouldn’t be a science carnival without a grand finale, and like last year, this year’s expo was capped with a demonstration of the explosive power of Mentos candy and Diet Coke.

Seventeen two-liter Diet Coke bottles were set up on Red Square, and then the hard, white candy was dropped into the beverage, resulting in geysers of brown liquid. Student and Evergreen Chemistry Club member Alex Dodwell, 24, said they also planned to fill plastic film canisters with Alka-Seltzer and water, then turn them over and let the pressure shoot the canister through the air.

Rolf Boone: 360-754-5403
rboone@theolympian.com
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