About

All living organisms on Earth consume things like carbon, energy, and water and a variety of other molecules to survive and thrive. Plants get the nutrients that they need from the soil and the atmosphere. Animals and humans need nutrients, such as carbohydrates, fats, and proteins, that we get by consuming other organisms. Proper nutrition and good eating habits are important for our health. Unfortunately, too many children around the world are malnourished — they do not eat enough, or they do not eat the right kinds of food. The main reason is poverty, as their parents simply cannot afford to feed them properly. Children at school need to be fed at least once a day. Many children eat at the school canteens. Therefore, canteens are important to the children’s nutrition and health. Children ought to eat "a variety of fruits and vegetables, whole grains, fat-free and low-fat dairy products, a variety of protein foods, and oils" for their health, according to nutritionists.
 

Your task

Design a healthy eating canteen menu for your school canteen. Imagine a delicious and nutritious canteen menu for school lunches, tea breaks, and other meals. Decide what ought to be on your ideal menu based on nutritional guidelines from the health authorities in your country, or international organisations such as the World Health Organisation (WHO), or a qualified nutritionist. The goal is to achieve good nutrition and eating habits amongst the students, to improve their physical health and mental well-being. Design the menu to be printed and displayed at your school canteen and on printed menus for students. Your menu should show menu items, with prices and other necessary information. You should also design a logo and symbol for your school canteen. Print your menu as a poster or a printed menu. Work on this project in a small team with a group of your classmates.
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The design thinking stages

Follow the five design thinking stages to ensure that you think of everything and do everything necessary in order to succeed in your design project. First, you must UNDERSTAND the design topic and the needs of the users. With that understanding, you can DECIDE what is important to your design solution and what is not so important. Then you CREATE to come up with ideas and improve them. Then you BUILD your chosen design idea in a physical form and improve it through trial-and-error. Finally, you TEST your built design idea to get the opinions of users. Use the methods from the Design Thinking for Schools website as you follow the design thinking stages.
 

Note for teachers

​​​​​​​Read the guide for teachers on Safety for the BUILD Stage for Level III to safely supervise this design project.​​​​​