Design an Official Seal for Your Own Country!

March 15, 2020 Kathy Ceceri

In my book Micronations: Invent Your Own Country and Culture, I show you how to design a country around a theme of your choosing. Micronations are imaginary countries that have a lot of the same things as real ones: laws, customs, history-even their own flags, coins, and postage stamps. The documents, symbols, and other physical artifacts you create tell the world what your country is about.

You can find out more about the book and print out a PDF of this project at the Nomad Press website.

Get your softcover copy from Nomad and shipping is free through April!

Once you’ve come up with ideas for symbols for your country, you can use them to make your micronation’s official coat of arms and a seal. For example, the Great Seal of the United States shows an eagle holding arrows symbolizing war in one claw and an olive branch symbolizing peace in the other.

Seals were originally designs pressed into a soft piece of wax with a mold. A seal put on a document shows that a person or government official has approved it. Today seals are usually stamped on with an inkpad or pressed into a piece of paper with a special tool so that it leaves a raised mark. This project makes a rubbery stamp for putting an inked seal on important documents.

Materials

paper and pencil
marker
craft foam
scissors
glue
piece of cardboard, flip flop, or blocks of wood small enough to fit in your hand
inkpad, or paint on a disposable plate

Start by sketching out your micronation’s coat of arms. First draw the outside border of your design. Make it thick like the frame on a painting. It can be a circle, a shield, or any shape you like. Then choose some of your micronation’s symbols and arrange them inside the border. Keep the symbols simple, and make sure they don’t touch each other or the outside border.
To make the stamp, copy your coat of arms onto a sheet of craft foam. To make the backing, take your cardboard, foam backing from a flip-flop shoe, or wood and lay it on the table with the stamping side facing up.
Cut around the outside shape of your craft foam seal. Turn it over so the drawing on it is facing down. You do that because your stamp must be a mirror image of the final version. Place it on the backing, then trace around it to show where it will go.
Carefully cut out the symbols of your seal from the craft foam. Glue the outside shape onto the backing, again making sure that the side with the drawing is facing down onto the backing. Then glue the symbols inside, also facing down.
When it’s dry, test your seal with a sheet of scrap paper before you put it on any important documents. Press it onto an inkpad or into a very small amount of paint poured onto a disposable plate. Then press it onto the scrap paper to see how it looks. If you want your seal to appear in different colors, you can carefully brush a thin coat of paint onto just one section or symbol at a time using the colors you would like for your coat of arms. You can also try swirling a few colors around on the plate, keeping them separate, for a multicolor effect.

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Happy Pi Day! Have S'More Pie

March 14, 2020 Kathy Ceceri

I love S’Mores — that campfire treat that sandwiches chocolate and marshmallow between two graham crackers. But what inspired me to make an oven-baked variation was the discovery of a geeky ingredient that gives this pie the woodsy aroma that takes it over the top: liquid smoke flavoring!

This recipe updates my original version, which appeared on Wired in 2011. For Pi Day 2020, which celebrates the mathematical constant with edible round delights, I’m adding homemade marshmallow topping from my book Edible Inventions. I’m also making the graham cracker crust and chocolate pudding filling from scratch.

Don’t worry, you can use a pre-made graham cracker crust, boxed instant pudding mix, and store-bought mini-marshmallows and it will still be pretty yummy. If you can toast the topping under the broiler or with a kitchen torch, even better!

There’s a lot of math and chemistry in turning ingredients into dessert, so it’s a great activity for kids (with adult supervision). Give it a try! Here's my recipe for Smoky S'More Pie:

Ingredients

Graham Cracker Crust

1 package of graham crackers (add another 1/2 package for large pie pans)
1/3 cup sugar (brown or regular)
6 tablespoons melted butter (add a bit more for large pie pans)

Chocolate Pudding Pie Filling (adapted from here):

3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup cocoa
3 tablespoons flour
pinch salt
2 eggs, beaten
3 cups milk
1½ tablespoons butter
1½ teaspoons vanilla
dark chocolate chips (optional)

Marshmallow Topping

1/4 cup water
1 packet or 1 tablespoon unflavored gelatin
2 cups granulated table sugar
scant (a little less than) 1/3 cup water
liquid smoke flavoring (such as this)

Directions

To make the crust:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
Crush the graham crackers into crumbs by breaking them up, putting them in a bag, and smashing them with a rolling pin or large jar.
Put the crumbs in a bowl and mix in the sugar and melted butter.
Press the mixture into a pie pan with a spoon or flat-bottomed cup.
Bake for 7 minutes and let cool.

To make the filling:

In a medium saucepan, whisk together the sugar, cocoa, flour, salt, and eggs. Slowly stir in the milk until it’s well mixed.
Set the stove for medium heat and stir constantly until the mixture starts to bubble, about 15 minutes.
Remove from heat and quickly add the butter and vanilla. Stir until the butter melts.
Pour the filling into the crust. Add chocolate chips around the rim if desired. If you want to keep a skin from forming, lay a sheet of plastic wrap on the surface. Chill for several hours.

To make the topping:

Combine the water and gelatin in a bowl, and let it sit.
Combine one cup of the granulated sugar and the rest of the water in a saucepan. Stir the mixture over medium heat until the sugar is all dissolved and the mixture looks clear.
Pour in the gelatin mixture and bring the pot to a boil. Turn off the heat, take the pan off the stove, and let the pan sit to cool for a few minutes.
When the mixture has cooled, pour it into a large mixing bowl.
Beat it with an electric mixer until soft, about 10 to 15 minutes. You should see the mixture get thicker and increase in size. It’s done when it looks shiny and white and it’s thick enough for soft peaks to form. With a spatula, fold in about five drops of liquid smoke flavoring (or to taste).
Spread the topping over the pudding. (If you have any leftover, spread it in a greased pan. When it's set, cut it into squares and roll them in powdered sugar to make your own marshmallows!)
Turn the oven on to broil. Put the pie on the top oven rack under the flame for 30 seconds or just until the topping begins to smoke. Turn the pie to brown it evenly. Decorate with graham crackers and/or more chocolate chips if desired.

Serve warmed or chilled. Happy Pi Day!

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Crafts for Learning: Pie-Tin Celtic Jewelry

March 9, 2020 Kathy Ceceri

Welcome! This is the first in an on-going series of Crafts for Learning articles for kids, each with a hands-on project using everyday stuff like household supplies and recycled materials. You can find this project and more in my book Around the World Crafts.

Up until very recently, people in Britain would dig up sphagnum moss from swampy peat bogs to use as fuel. In 1983 in England, workers cutting peat moss in Lindow Moss bog discovered a body and called the police. The victim had been strangled, hit on the head, and stabbed. And the authorities had a likely suspect: a local man whose wife had disappeared 25 years earlier. When police told him of their find, the man confessed to his wife’s murder. So it was a surprise to all involved when experts declared that the body wasn’t the unlucky wife. In fact, it belonged to a man who had died nearly 2,000 years ago! What was the truth behind the mysterious bog body? The answer came through archeology.

Archeology is the study of past human cultures. Archeologists dig up artifacts, or things made by the people they’re studying. Then they scientifically analyze them. They try to figure out when the artifacts were made, how they were used, and how they ended up where they were found. Occasionally, as in the case of the Lindow Man, they also find remains of the people themselves. Radiocarbon dating told researchers that Lindow Man lived between AD 20 and 90. At that time a tribe of people known as the Celts occupied Britain.

Starting around 800 BC, the Celts were the most powerful tribe in northern Europe. This was the Iron Age, and metalwork was a specialty of people of the region. For decoration, they made elaborate brooches (pins), torcs (neck rings), and arm bands. For fighting, they made shields, helmets, and swords. They adorned them with designs featuring animal and human heads. Another popular pattern was the triskeles, a wheel made of three running human legs. (Three was a special number to the Celts). But most Celtic artifacts have been not found in homes, which were made of straw and mud that did not survive the centuries. Instead, like the Lindow Man, they were found in water.

The Celts did not have a written language of their own. But in AD 43, Roman armies invaded Britain. The invading Romans wrote about the Celtic priests, the Druids. The Druids worshipped gods and goddesses who were part of the natural world in their secret ceremonies. For instance, every winter solstice Druids would give out sprigs of mistletoe. These were hung over doorways as protection from evil. Heather was another sacred plant with connections to the spirit realm. Water was connected to the Otherworld. The Druids would place ceremonial offerings of valuable handicrafts in rivers, lakes and bogs. It was said they also made human sacrifices there.

As it happens, the sphagnum moss in peat bogs turn the swampy water to acid. The acid kills the bacteria that makes things rot. So instead of decomposing, Lindow Man’s soft body parts were preserved by the bogwater. His skin and organs became tough and rubbery. It was the same process that turns animal hides into leather. Lindow Man’s bones, clothes and shoes had dissolved. But archeologists found traces of his last meal in Lindow Man’s stomach. It consisted of bread cooked over a fire of heather branches, and a drink made of mistletoe pollen. For archeologists, the “triple” murder, the watery grave, and the sacred plants were all clues. They concluded that Lindow Man was the victim of human sacrifice.

You can make a replica of an Iron Age arm band or ceremonial shield covered with Celtic designs out of copper foil from the art store or even an aluminum baking pan. Wear it on your wrist or turn your shield into a pin to wear on your cloak!

Materials:

Scrap paper
Copper foil (30 mils thick) or aluminum foil pie tin or baking pan
Embossing tool with a rounded point (like a lift-erase pad drawing stick) or a spoon
Stack of scrap paper or cardboard, or sheet of craft foam to press on
Sequins or other decorative “jewels” (peel-and-stick or use adhesive dots to attach)
(Optional) Stick-on pin fastening

To get ideas, look for Celtic designs on websites like the British Museum website and DK Books.
Draw your shield or bracelet first on a piece of paper. Then draw a margin about ½ inch around the edge. This will be your pattern for cutting your copper or aluminum.
Use scissors to cut the foil the same size as your pattern. Handle the metal carefully, as the edges may be sharp.
Put your soft surface under your piece of foil with the BACK facing up. Fold the edges towards you and press down smoothly with your embossing tool or a spoon.
On the back of the foil, use the embossing tool to draw your design. It will “pop out” on the front. Try using different pressures and angles with the tool to get different effects. To make the design stand out even more, turn the piece over and outline the design on the front.
Add jewels or other decorations.
Bend the bracelet to fit around your wrist, or attach a pin fastening to the back of your shield, near enough to the top so that the pin won’t tip forward when you’re wearing it.

This page may contain affiliate links. They add nothing to your cost, and help support this website. Another way to help me keep producing great STEAM content for kids is to buy my books. Thanks!

Hamantaschen Science

March 7, 2020 Kathy Ceceri

I always celebrate the Jewish holiday of Purim by baking a wonderful cookie known as Hamantaschen. Here’s my recipe — and the science lesson I made out of it — from a post that originally ran on Wired.com in 2011. I also included the history of baking powder in my book Edible Inventions, as explained by my friend and baking expert Amy Halloran. Check it out after you make these great cookies!

A few years ago, when the kids were studying chemistry, we made Hamantashen cookies for Purim and the question came up about the difference between baking soda and baking powder. We had done the baking soda and vinegar thing many times, so we already knew that mixing sodium bicarbonate with an acid releases carbon dioxide. When you bake, those little bubbles of CO2 make the bread puff up. The acid needed to start the reaction in a batter can come from yogurt, buttermilk, lemon juice, or even molasses or honey.

But the recipe for Hamantashen from my grandmother's old cookbook called for baking powder:

1 cup sugar
1 cup oil
3 eggs
1/4 cup orange juice
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
4-5 cups flour
Filling options: poppy seed or lekvar (prune) filling; apricot jam; chocolate chips or Kisses

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Mix together everything except the flour. Add enough flour to make a soft dough, a little on the dry side.
Form into a ball. Roll out about 1/4 inch thick on a floured board. Cut the dough into circles with a round cookie cutter or the rim of a glass. My grandmother's were always small and dainty, but in New York the bakeries they make 'em as big as your hand.
Spoon some filling in the middle. To shape the cookie, pinch three sides up to form a triangle.
Bake for 20 minutes, until the edges are brown.

Baking powder is baking soda with the acid already mixed in, in the form of cream of tartar. When moistened, powdered acid combines with the baking soda and produces the requisite bubbles. Some baking powder is "double acting," meaning it releases most of the bubbles when heated, so that the leavening action doesn't expend itself while the dough is waiting on the counter to bake.

If you want to try my grandmother's recipe for Hamantashen and you're all out of baking powder, you can make your own by mixing two parts cream of tartar with one part baking soda.

This page may contain affiliate links. They add nothing to your cost, and help support this website. Another way to help me keep producing great STEAM content for kids is to buy my books. Thanks!