Take a look at cutting-edge educational technology, circa 1979. His name was Nutro, and he rolled into Page Elementary School in Minneapolis as a part of a nationwide tour of sixth- and seventh-grade classrooms.
Taste of the Past: The nuts and bolts of nutrition
Robot helped students understand nutrition.
March 31, 2010 at 7:40PM
The goal of Nutro's work was to spice up the bone-dry topic of nutrition for tween audiences, which he accomplished with a lively mix of chatter and Q&A. Of course, the sci-fi metal and plastic get-up didn't hurt.
"Although he positively hypnotized the delighted and eager students, Nutro couldn't function without a real, live nutrition expert's help," wrote Beth Anderson, a Taste staff writer, in a May 2, 1979, story. "Dave Canty, a 27-year-old who has finished his doctoral course work in nutritional sciences, was folded up inside Nutro's cone-shaped body."
Turns out Canty -- sorry, Nutro -- wasn't part of a 1970s No Child Left Behind-style government initiative; his work was sponsored by a vitamin manufacturer. Anderson noted that Canty intended to use "Nutro's educational experiences in his doctoral work, by comparing Nutro's effectiveness with schoolchildren with the same techniques executed by the biochemical unit commonly known as a teacher."
The story's "healthy" recipe was for deep-fried mashed potato-Cheddar cheese puffs. That covers two basic food groups -- vegetable and dairy -- right?
Don’t let sweet corn season pass without trying this recipe for Creamy Corn and Poblano Soup.
