From field to tummy: A Tiny Test Kitchen

Kids will exercise cooking chops Sunday at Longview Center for Agriculture in Collegeville, as Greener Partners hosts a workshop starring the green bean. Kids will pick, clean, cut, cook, eat.

By Monica Peters, For The Inquirer

Posted: August 24, 2012

On Sunday from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. at the Longview Center for Agriculture in Collegeville, Greener Partners will host its weekly Tiny Test Kitchen workshop for ages 5 to 9.

The theme is Jack and the Beanstalk and the feature ingredient will be the green bean. Vegetarian farm volunteer Jacqueline Melendez will teach participants about local and seasonal eating. Kids will tour the farm, pick the vegetables, and clean and chop them on their own. After the tour kids will create their own green bean dish. Parents are encouraged to stay during the class.

Greener Partners was founded by local parents in 2007 to connect communities through food, farm, and education.

Tiny Test Kitchen, 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. Sunday at the Longview Center for Agriculture, 3215 Stump Hall Rd. Collegeville. Admission: $7 per child. Classes are rain or shine. Preregistration is required at www.greenerpartners.org by Saturday. Information: 610-584-6580.

Hawaiian Statehood Celebration

On Saturday, celebrate Hawaii's becoming the 50th state during the Hawaiian Statehood Celebration at the Historic Philadelphia Center. The Once Upon a Nation Storyteller benches at the center will also be reopened for the occasion.

From noon to 4 p.m., families will learn the history of how Hawaii became a state. in 1959. Kids can also learn about the tradition of the lei and decorate their own Hawaiian-themed 50th star. Patriotic tattoos will be available, and participants can enter a Hula Hoop contest to win tickets to see the "Liberty 360 Show." There will be a trivia game to win free tickets for Franklin Square's Philly Mini Golf. The event also marks the last day to hear the Once Upon a Nation Storyteller bench stories.

Hawaiian Statehood Celebration, noon to 4 p.m. Saturday at the Historic Philadelphia Center, Sixth and Chestnut Streets. Event is free. Information: 215-629-4026.

'Eat Like a Pirate' at Please Touch Museum

Please Touch Museum continues its daily Playhouse Theater production of Eat Like a Pirate.

Go on a journey for good nutrition as Captain Cook navigates his way to the Great Foods Pyramids using puppets and kitchen utensils as props. In search of healthy food, Cook and his crew, the Low Sodium Dogs, face distractions, including having to sail through the Sandwich Islands. Along the way they meet Captain Drive Thru, who can't resist stopping at any fast-food window he sees. What valuable lessons will kids learn about nutrition and exercise? Performance times are 11 a.m. Friday and Saturday and 1 p.m. Sunday.

"Eat Like a Pirate," 11 a.m. Friday and Saturday and 1 p.m. Sunday and throughout the week at Please Touch Museum, Memorial Hall, Fairmount Park, 4231 Avenue of the Republic. Museum hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sundays. Daily performance times vary throughout the month. Admission: $16 ages 1 and older; museum members and infants free. Information: 215-581-3181 or www.pleasetouchmuseum.org.

Contact Monica Peters at mpeters@phillynews.com.