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DH: "We interviewed a doctor about how long and how wide.”
IW: "How much it should bend ... maybe have it a little more flexible.”
AX: "We did a lot of research on candy bubble gum is a very popular type of flavor.”

These young scientists are cooking up a new invention. I’m Jim Metzner and this is the Pulse of the Planet. Devin Hollinger, Ian Williams and Anna Xystros are the Candy Doctors, team winners in the flavor category of the Kids’ Science Challenge, our nationwide competition for 3rd to 6th graders. Their idea was to create a tongue depressor made out of candy.

JH: "When they introduced to me their winning concepts, I sent back to them and their team questions that they needed to think about.”

Joan Harvey is a flavorist at Cadbury, and she’s collaborating with the Candy Doctors to turn their idea into a reality.

JH: “So I asked what color they wanted; did they want it all to be a chewy candy; did they want crunchy things; did they want it to be decorated. They did come back with some great ideas, and we tried to implement some of them and some of them need to have further research.”

The Candy Doctors traveled to Joan Harvey’s lab to collaborate on a prototype of their idea. And now they’ve got to correct a flaw in their initial design.

DH: "It was a little bit flimsy because of the taffy part. We could cover the whole taffy part in hard candy, because hard candy is pretty strong."
JH: The one thing that I have a concern about is that the hard candy might chip off of the taffy Maybe we cook the taffy a little longer and remove more of the moisture and it turns into a harder substance but not as hard as hard candy.”

To see how these designs are taking shape, visit kidsciencechallenge.com.

Pulse of the Planet’s Kids’ Science Challenge is made possible by the National Science Foundation. I’m Jim Metzner.