On many levels, our DIY Cough Drops workshop should have been a hit: (1) the idea came from a regular attendee of our workshops who also loved to make stuff at home; (2) ads were posted in every science classroom (since everyone takes science) one week before the event; (3) the concept was tested beforehand without a hitch; (4) samples we made were left out for students to try – and all samples were taken (a good sign of student interest, we thought); and (5) students would making something useful and edible (and students, I hear, love food). Furthermore, on the day of the event, preparations were made 15 minutes ahead of the event. Four tables were set up and each table had 2 hotplates, 4 spoons, 4 beakers, a copy of the cough drop cooking instructions, all the required ingredients pre-measured and pre-packaged, and a chilled baking sheet with parchment paper on top. So it came as a surprise when all that planning ended in complete failure.

At the start of the event…

a minor problem presented itself: 4 students were present – and the student who proposed we make cough drops was not present. I was disappointed with turnout – and I thought it still might have something to do with our Makerspace’s relative obscurity with students- but we ended up hosting 10 participants (more students joined in later on). As the workshop progressed, so did the problems: first, circuit breakers were tripped because too many hotplates were in use simultaneously (we solved this by spreading out the hotplates to different outlets); next, cough drop solutions started to overflow onto hotplates (which never happened during our tests and was made worse since we had yet to hand out oven mitts to participants); then, what overflowed onto the hotplates started to burn and produce a lot of smoke (affected hotplates were moved to open windows). Moments later, the fire alarm went off and students had to evacuate the school. I thought it was our fault; but, it turns out, it was merely a coincidence: a fire extinguisher had accidentally gone off in another part of the school during our workshop which set off the alarms.

Students were evacuated for approximately 50 minutes, and our participants never finished their work. Left with unfinished student projects, half boiled cough drop solutions, hotplates with charred sugar solution on them, a smoky library, and a mess of ingredients to clean up, this workshop was an epic failure.

If there is any silver lining to the workshop…

it is the old adage that there is no such thing as bad publicity. Although the fire alarm was started by a fire extinguisher accident, rumor spread that it was caused by the Makerspace (supported by a number of Facebook posts that evening and an email sent from another Burnaby librarian to Kathleen, our librarian, asking if it was the Makerspace who had set off the fire alarms). Word of our Makerspace has hopefully spread throughout the school now. With such an epic, scandalous failure, perhaps we’ll get more people showing up for our next workshop.