There are many people who would consider any attempt at cooking to be more along the lines of being a scientific experiment. This week, students at the Enrichment program’s science program at Westside Elementary School are learning science through creating culinary delights.

Demopolis High School science teacher Deborah Boykin organized this science program, the third and week for this year’s Enrichment program. Two weeks ago, students took part in an arts program, and last week, they took to the stage with the Missoula Children’s Theater production of “Pinocchio.”

“We did measuring and followed instructions for the last two days,” Boykin said. “We’re going to talk about acids and bases this week. We’ll talk about starches and the four different biological molecules.”

On Tuesday, Boykin’s group made salsa in a lesson on eating vegetables for a healthy diet, while Elsie Collins’ group learned about the amount of sugar in soft drinks and made granola and Carolyn Moore’s group made whipped cream.

“We look at the food pyramids and talk about nutrition,” Boykin said. “That was really my focus for this week. I don’t like to talk too much about calories, but I did want to give them ideas about other ways to eat healthier or looking at what they’re eating. We’ll get into the different types of vitamins a food has.”

Jones’ group made their own whipped cream using heavy whipping cream, sugar, vanilla flavoring and taking turns using the mixer.

Boykin’s group made salsa by mixing vegetables like tomatoes, celery, cilantro, garlic, lemon and cumin.

“We talked about the different food groups and servings and how hard it is to get the right amount of vegetables,” Boykin said. “This is a good way to get this, and fun, too.”

The students taking part in the Enrichment program not only have something to keep them active this summer, but doing something that is fun and educational.