Cynthia Kimura

Cynthia Kimura is a dedicated and experienced educator with over 16 years of teaching across diverse school settings, including LAUSD, Lynwood Unified School District, and SCVi Charter School. She is passionate about sparking curiosity and creativity in her students through hands-on, engaging learning experiences.

Her science academic background includes participation in educational programs through UCLA and USC, such as COSEES and SWIMMS, which have enriched her teaching through marine science. At SCVi Charter School, Cynthia applied Project-Based Learning (PBL) strategies to guide students through collaborative projects, including a student-created museum exhibit attended by representatives from Assembly Member Pilar Schiavo's office, members of the press, the Castaic Area Town Council, and students' families.

In previous years, Cynthia has also run and been the chef for her own Vegan restaurant!

Cynthia’s classes have also taken their learning into action, raising funds for national and local causes such as Team Trees, Team Seas, Ballona Wetlands, and Save LA Cougars—giving students the opportunity to connect classroom lessons with meaningful real-world impact.

Throughout her career, Cynthia has inspired students to think critically, care deeply about their communities, and explore the world with curiosity and confidence. Her thoughtful, student-centered approach makes her a valued and inspiring presence in any classroom.

Food Science Lab

Homework: Optional

Get ready to stir, mix, whisk, and wonder. This hands-on course where the kitchen becomes your science lab and every tasty treat is a learning opportunity! In this deliciously interactive class, explore the fascinating world of science through cooking, with food that you can actually eat. From fizzy drinks and gooey desserts to color-changing concoctions, investigate real scientific principles behind everyday foods.

Whip up creative cuisine to learn the related science behind your creation. Recipes will coincide with actual scientific facts.

Below are just a few tastes of what is in store for you! Students will work with food, create something edible, and learn about science! We’ll follow the scientific method by wondering what will happen first, and then testing it! What makes cookies flat or raised? What is the role of an egg? (Or a flax egg?) What’s the difference between baking soda and baking powder? Perfect for budding scientists, curious cooks, and food lovers of all kinds, this course brings science to life in the most flavorful way possible. Come hungry for knowledge and ready to cook up some science you can taste.

Fun experiments answering the questions of

How does ice cream form? Why are ingredients heated and the frozen? What’s AIR got to do with it?
Why does popcorn pop?
What makes some foods taste spicy?

We’ll delve into cookie chemistry and find out how cookies go into an oven as a gooey, sticky ball and come out a flat, firm, round disc. We’ll discover what surface tension is and why it’s important in baking! Cinnamon will show us the way! And let’s experiment with liquid density by making a rainbow lemonade. We’ll be making cocoa spoons and find out how quickly or slowly things dissolve. And finally, our pancake taco teaches students about how some foods stretch. Learn about maple syrup molecules while making maple oat cookies.

Age Differentiated Classes

Class is offered for ages 6-8, 9-11 and 12+. While we will basically be learning the same lessons, we’ll definitely be taking our science to deeper depths for each age group. Our youngest learners will be mixing, observing, and either writing out their ideas on their science worksheets or circling new words about what they expect to happen on their food science worksheets! There are no reading or writing prereqs for our youngest learners but there are both reading and writing opportunities, making this a perfect first science class! Our older kids will take on more responsibility for chopping and dicing, learning knife safety and cutting techniques, running additional experiments, reading ingredient lists and scientific articles and writing more elaborate scientific method lab sheets. But, they will all eat ice cream!