Case Study: The Farm-to-Table Puzzles

In July of 2019, the Stepping Stones Children’s Museum held an Eco Kids Summit for over 300 kids from around Norwalk, Connecticut. Farmers from around the region stopped by to show off their wares, and kids learned a lot about ecology. But the museum didn’t just want the kids sitting there listening to lessons: They wanted the kids up and moving around, and thinking at the same time.

Eric created for the museum a “farm-to-table puzzle event.” Six puzzles were placed around the museum, each representing a different aspect of the farm-to-table process: Planting The Seeds, Irrigation, The Seed Grows, Harvesting, Processing, and Shipping. Successfully solving any of these puzzles earned the kids one of six trading cards.

The six trading cards were themselves a puzzle: The kids needed to place them in the proper order. By doing so, the solvers learned the location of one final puzzle. Solving this gave the kids their punny reward: CORN-GRATULATIONS!

Because the event was intended for a wide range of schoolkids, Eric worked hard to make the puzzles a little easier than usual, but still varied and interesting. He trained the museum’s volunteers, as well, to work with the solvers, giving hints and nudges as appropriate.