Chapter 4: The Adventure Kit
Double Blind Coloring Page
"A blind test helps us not to guess."
Two characters wearing blindfolds holding taste-test spoons.
About this page
Blindfolds on, spoons up, page 58 turns one of science's cleverest tricks into a giggle-worthy game. When tasters cannot see what they are eating, their eyes cannot talk them into an answer, so only the real flavor counts. That is the whole idea behind a blind test, keeping our sneaky expectations from changing the results. Researchers call those expectations bias, but kids just call it being fooled by your eyes. It makes a wonderful follow-up activity at home, and pairs naturally with the taste-friendly ideas in these kitchen science experiments. Just add applesauce and a scarf.
The research skill
Blinding is the research skill on this page. The bunny and the puppy wear blindfolds so they judge each spoonful by taste alone, not by what the food looks like. The title goes a step further: in a double-blind test, even the person handing out the spoons does not know which is which, so they cannot give hints by accident. Deciding who knows what is a real part of planning a method in Chapter 4. Your child will hear about it again in medicine and nutrition, where fair tests depend on it.
Try it at home
Try a two-bowl taste test with an adult, checking for food allergies first.
- Pick two similar foods, such as two kinds of apple or two brands of crackers.
- One adult secretly marks the bowls A and B, and a second person serves them without knowing which is which.
- Your child wears a scarf as a blindfold, tastes both, and says which they prefer.
- Write the answer down before anyone peeks at the labels.
Talk about it while you color
- What two foods would you want to taste-test with a blindfold on?
- Do you think the blindfolded tasters will guess right, and why?
- How does food seem different when you close your eyes while eating it?