Aug. 16, 2022 -- There are few things elementary kids like better than a field trip. And when that field trip is combined with food and eating, it’s even better.

Boulevard’s 21st Century Adventure Camp, Boulevard Blast, spent an entire week this summer studying international foods, learning about kitchen safety, and sampling regional dishes with a culminating visit to the West Side Market. 

Kristy Minnillo, a 4th grade teacher who coordinated one of the four weeks of camp this summer, was thrilled with how excited the children were to learn about international foods. Each day they studied a different region of the world and prepared specialties, such as couscous from North Africa and feta dip from Greece. 

The trip to the West Side Market was definitely a highlight, including a scavenger hunt for things like litchi nuts, macaroons and tabbouleh. Ms. Minnillo reports that vendors were “amazing talking to the kids about their specialties” and that one customer was so impressed with the behavior she witnessed that she offered to buy one item for every child. 

Once they returned to the building, students completed reviews of all the new foods they sampled, including a description of how the food looked, smelled, tasted and felt. They decided whether they’d be willing to eat it again and whether or not they’d recommend it to a friend. According to rising 4th grader Jordan Harris’ mom, he tried macaroons for the first time, “and while he enjoyed learning about foods from different countries, French foods were his favorite.”

Ms. Minnillo was joined for the week by camp advisors Jerod Johnson and Keli Zehnder. Boulevard Blast coordinator Sharon Finkelstein organized the other weeks which included fitness training, rock climbing, swim lessons, graffiti classes, an animal theme and trips to museums and the zoo. More than seventy Boulevard students participated in Adventure Camp.