Did you know that VentureLab is Girl Scout USA’s dedicated subject matter expert for their new entrepreneurship badges? Not only that, but VentureLab also offers a patch program, training, and more, to bring entrepreneurship to any Girl Scout troop! Learn more here, and enjoy this free activity from our patch program that anyone can enjoy!
Mooz Diner Activity
In Planet Mooz, students create a pretend diner on a newly discovered planet called Mooz. Moozians eat very different things than we do on Earth, so they need to use their creativity to put together a stellar menu.
Materials
- Letter from Planet Mooz (downloadable below)
- Blank menu template (downloadable below)
- Construction paper (or any other type of paper-colored is best), scissors, glue, tape markers, crayons, etc.
- 3D materials for the food if available (clay, cardboard boxes, toilet paper rolls, paper towel tubes, popsicle sticks, old containers)
Preparation
- Read through the entire activity.
- Print letter and menu template (enough menu templates for each student to have one). If you have time, fold the menu in half so the diner information is on one side and menu info is on the back.
- Gather materials.
- Decide how you’ll group your students! (Check out some fun ideas here.)
Instructions
1. Tell students you’ve received communication from an alien planet. Then read the Planet Mooz letter. Try to get them excited about this opportunity!
2. Let the students know that they’re going to design the diner menu and name the diner for Planet Mooz. Remember that it’s important to be creative, since Moozians don’t eat the same things we do. They can’t put things on the menu that we have on our menus.
Think outside the box and combine dishes, like ice cream with fried pizza sticks on the side or choose weird animal foods, like fried slugs as an appetizer. Encourage them to be creative and invent foods never thought of before, because this is how entrepreneurs think.
3. Tell the students they must have at least 8 things on the menu (2 drinks, 2 appetizers, 2 main dishes, 2 desserts). They have to come up with prices and design the items using construction paper or whatever materials you have on hand.
Let them know that they will be pretending to be Moozians and order and eat the diner food they make, testing out their diners when they’re finished creating their menus and food.
4. Group the students up however you’d like, and pass out the blank diner menu template from the student handouts. (Check out some fun ideas for grouping youth here.)
5. Encourage the students to make their menu creative and colorful, whether using the template or creating their own. Give them 15 minutes to design their menu. Walk around the room and support students who need it.
6. After you check their final menu, have them begin creating their food items. The food can be 2D, but encourage students to create 3D food for their customers if you have the appropriate materials.
Even paper can be shaped into 3D food items, at least one or two, but more if time allows. Tell the students that the food items don’t need to look perfect given the time constraint. Give them another 15 minutes for making food items.
7. When finished creating their menus and paper food, gather everyone together to share their new food items.
Post-Activity Discussion
Ask the students how this entire process went. Here are some sample questions to ask them:
- Did you find yourself or anyone else using the Entrepreneur’s Mindset during the activity? How?
- Did anything frustrate you when you were inventing new foods for your menu?
- Are you proud of your menu and play food?
- How did the role play go?
- Were you surprised that you were able to come up with new ideas?
- At first, did you think you wouldn’t be able to come up with ideas? Were you eventually able to?
- How did you come up with new ideas?
- What are other silly things you could create for Planet Mooz?
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Originally published 2/2/2022. Reposted with minor updates 10/16/2024.
