Students may not realize that some everyday tasks can become more difficult with age. That’s where this Limitations Lab, shared by Ellen Bolton of Pennsylvania, comes in. Students simulate a variety of physical limitations as they go about the everyday task of preparing food in the kitchen.

Set

• Ask students to think about what the word “limitations” means to them and have them share briefly.
• Now ask: What everyday tasks do you think would become harder with age?
• Announce that today is a mystery lab, a term students already know. Note: Students are familiar with Ellen’s term of a “mystery lab” which means they know very little about the lab until they are completing it.  They are usually excited when they can make a cake, cookies or brownies so this is how I get them to buy into the limitations part. 

Materials

• Glasses Covered with Vaseline
• Cotton Balls
• Popcorn Kernels
• Masking Tape
• Lab Supplies

Activities

• Note: The limitations lab is completed in a 9-12th grade Culinary arts entry level foods class. This is a semester class and the lab is done in the second marking period, usually around Thanksgiving. In the spring semester, it works well in the final schedule at the end of the school year.  Students already have the lab routine established so this is a limitation on completing tasks like measuring. 
• The first step of this lab is to assign students a food to make: cake, pancakes, brownies or cookies. Links for the actual recipes can be found below.
• The second step of this lab is for students to prepare for the recipe with limitations. For the limitations, Ellen prepares the glasses with vaseline which she gets at the Dollar Store for each class, washing them between uses. Students add cotton balls to their ears, wrap their fingers with tape and add popcorn kernels to their shoes. Each limitation represents a physical limitation one might experience as they age.
  • Vaseline Glasses simulate cataracts and/or aging eyesight
  • Cotton Balls in the ears simulates hearing loss
  • Wrapping 2-3 fingers together simulates arthritis
  • Popcorn Kernels in the shoes simulates the aches and pains associated with neuropathy
• In the third step, students actually prepare the recipe, with limitations.
• In the fourth step students complete the Limitations Experience Evaluation. Ellen explains to them: You have just completed an activity where you became an elderly adult for a few minutes.  You experienced a few impediments but an elderly person may have a combination of many – arthritis, stroke, poor eyesight, physical handicap, bad hearing, sensitivity loss or memory loss.
• How I felt during the recipe was… 
• My frustrations were…
• The problems I dealt with were…
• What bothered me the most was…
• What I have learned is… 
• Finally, students are assigned a follow up journal entry which is the most important part.  In the journal students must explain how similar they are to a senior citizen.  Students have asked Ellen if this is what she goes through since she may be older than their grandparents. Note: Many students express how blessed they are and Ellen explains that everyone has a limitation of some sort.  She shares with students early in the semester that she is deaf in her left ear and people don’t know it until I tell them.  

Attachments

• Culinary Arts Limitation Lab Directions & Evaluation
• Journal Entry Limitations Lab Follow-Up
• Sugar Cookie Recipe (link)
• Brownie Recipe (link)
• Pancake Recipe (link)
• Chocolate Cake Recipe

Photo by Piero Istrice on Unsplash