Sometime before March 8th, I will give my Economics students the opportunity to design and market a donut. The exciting part is that this isn’t a classroom simulation. I will let them participate in Dunkin Donut’s second annual “Create Your Own Donut” contest ( www.dunkindonuts.com ). It is a promotion that provides the winner the prospect of their “creation” being sold at participating stores and of course a $12000.00 grand prize (be sure to watch the video of last year’s winner).
My classes participated last year and it was amazing how excited and involve they were. The interactive website let them design and determine the ingredients of their donut online. The best part was that they have to provide a name for the donut and a story that complimented it. Creating the story was difficult for them…but they enjoyed the challenge. When we voted last year on the finalists, there were actually two donuts named “Economic Crunch” and “Frozen Assets”! It led to some interesting conversation.
The rules state you must be 18 to enter and at least 13 years of age to enter with parental permission. Of course sometimes contests can be fun for teachers too!!!!!! I had fun with my entry!
The contest ends March 8th and a dozen finalists will be announced shortly thereafter. The public will be able to vote online for a winner between April 19th and May 3rd. The winner will be announced on National Donut Day (June 4th). I had no idea this was a day, but why not? Ha! Ha! This activity can be the type of “spark” that can be useful on a Monday or before/after a break. Contests are fun and relevant!
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Be sure to check out the “idea of the week” at www.energizetheclassroom.com .
-Paul Richmond
E.T.C.
