Building a Gingerbread House for Science of Gingerbread at Discovery Cube

the boys have been off school since last friday, so we have been home the past few days with nothing to do. we decided that it would be fun to build a gingerbread house for the Discovery Cube Science of Gingerbread exhibit that is coming up at the end of this month. it's one of our favorite events at Discovery Cube OC, which made this activity really exciting for the boys.

so we headed over to the store and bought a bunch of graham crackers, powdered sugar for icing, sprinkles,and candy. we also had a lot of left over candy from Halloween which i have been saving for gingerbread houses, so that worked out perfect. then we found a piece of wood for the base and some small boxes to glue the graham crackers to for the houses.

now that we had all the supplies for the gingerbread houses, the boys went to work on setting up the kitchen to build them. first, they changed into their Christmas jammies. they could wait to start wearing them, so i said they could go ahead and put them on. i usually wait till December 1st to give them to them, but i guess a few days early doesn't matter. i love that they get to enjoy wearing them the entire Christmas season.  next, they went through the Halloween candy and sorted out the candy we would use into separate dishes.

i made a triple batch of royal icing, and helped glue the graham crackers to the small boxes to look like little stores. the boys wanted to make a gingerbread beach town with an ocean.

then it was time to start the decorating. first icing and then candy. it takes a bit of patience, but everyone had so much fun. the boys got to be creative and decorate however they wanted. this was a great family activity.

there might have even been a little bit of taste testing going on.

it ended up being a two night project because our gingerbread beach city was kind of big. this is what we got done on the first night. you'' have to visit the Discovery Cube Science of Gingerbread event to see the finished product! i am very proud of the boys for doing such a good job.

you too can enter a gingerbread house in the Discovery Cube Science of Gingerbread Annual Gingerbread Competition...but you only have until November 29th to enter. so hurry fast to get those gingerbread houses finished! the categories you can enter your gingerbread house in are:

Best Holiday Theme
Best by an Organization
Best Youth 5 and Under
Best Youth ages 6-13
Best Youth Group/ Classroom Best by a Member of the Cube Best Hot Wheels Inspired
Best Science Theme
People’s Choice

anyone is welcome to enter – local companies, schools, families and organizations are all invited to build their own creations. you can download an entry form here.

i highly recommend entering, it make such a fun an memorable experience to do with your kids, and they will fee so special when they see it on display during the Science of Gingerbread. the Discovery Cube Science of Gingerbread event begins this week, November 27, 2015 through January 3, 2016. there will be a lot going on during the event. besides the beautiful displays of gingerbread, there will also be lots of great festive hands-on activities designed to bring families together this holiday season. the activities will include:

Gingerbread Derby Competition (11 am, 1 pm, & 3 pm)
Kitchen Chemistry Learning Station
Gingerbread Spices Learning Station
Build a House Learning Station
Hall of Traditions
3D Printing of a gingerbread house
Do You Want To Build A Snowman? Science of Snow Stage Show  (select dates)
Cookie Decorating in the Healthy Kitchen  (select dates)
Santa Meet & Greet  (select dates)

there's so much fun to be had!!! this is one of our family's favorite events to attend during the holiday season. i can almost smell the wonderful scent of gingerbread that wafts through the Science Center during this special time of year. i hope to see you there. p.s. be on the look out for our finished gingerbread beach town!