(bright music) - "What If" team, time for strength test.

- I'm ready, let's do it.

(hip hop music) (team members grunting) (hip hop music) (hip hop music) (Mike laughs) - Hey Sam, come try to beat that.

- Yeah, let's give this a try.

How hard can it be?

(hip hop music) (Sam whistling) (machine dinging) Ha, would you look at that?

(hip hop music) (upbeat music) That's what I get for winning the strength competition.

(upbeat music) - A business that combines science and candy.

A lifelong entrepreneur's journey, from bees (metal clinking) to mustard.

Kids making this into a business in a day.

(upbeat music) - What If...!

(all laugh) (upbeat music) (upbeat music) (upbeat music) - This place is all about playing and learning.

(upbeat music) So is "What If..." So for this episode of our series, we're gonna explore some of the hands-on STEM displays and activities here at the luminarium in Omaha, (upbeat music) and have a little fun telling you stories about innovation and creativity, starting with one about a day long entrepreneurship adventure.

(upbeat music) (inspiring ceremonious music) (inspiring ceremonious music) -[Mike] This is more than an odd plastic widget.

(inspiring ceremonious music) It's the beginning of ideas for teenagers and maybe even some older folks.

(inspiring ceremonious music) (film tape winding up) Welcome to INVENTURE Day, University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension and 4-H started this jam-packed, high-energy statewide program to get middle school students thinking about entrepreneurship.

-[Tanya] It's like a field day experience for them to come and experience what it's like to maybe be an entrepreneur.

-[Holli] So they are given the task of creating a product around a widget, an everyday item, and they create a product that solves a problem.

-[Mike] Throughout the day, teams of seventh graders from four schools go through a series of steps to create something from that widget.

(upbeat music) -We thought, "Hey, surely the 'What If...' team is also up to the challenge, right?"

-(Justin) Watch your face.

(Emily and Mike laugh) -There you go- -So to demonstrate a little more of how this works, Tanya and Holli led us through an abbreviated version a day earlier.

-[Mike] So you're making an assumption we can actually agree on something?

-[Holli] Yes, you're gonna have to agree.

(What If Team laughs) Mm-hmm.

- Oh, we're doomed.

-Okay.

-[Mike] We'll show you both adventure journeys throughout the story.

If you had to predict how a bunch of people further along in their years would do versus the junior high kids, do we have a chance?

-I will be interested to see how this turns out.

(Tanya laughing) (teens speaking over each other) -[Student] I'd be an engineer designer- -[Mike] It starts with each team figuring out who will be project manager, and other roles.

(upbeat music) Then comes the mysterious widget.

-[Student] It looks like an air filter.

-[Tanya] We might know what it is, but some of that they don't know.

-[Mike] Important, because the idea is to think outside the box.

-[Student] Yeah, clock's too basic.

-[Mike] Can I ask you guys what you came up with?

-[Student] It's like a clothing hanger, thing... (upbeat music) -A dog collar.

-A what?

-A dog collar.

-A dog collar.

-[Student] Why do you think it's smooth on the outside and has all the little ridges?

What do you think- For support.

These holes... Support?

Okay.

-[Mike] Throughout the day, students work with an adult mentor.

-Type of air filter- -With an adult mentor.

Like you had talked about.

-Yeah.

-You could also sell it to somebody that does something along the lines of, like, kitchen, recreation or, like, design.

Does that make sense?

-I guess.

-[Tonya] The ideas that they come up with, it's awesome to watch these kids learn and grow, but also giving them, like, "Okay, maybe not quite that, but let's go this direction with it because this is kind of more a real-world interpretation."

(wheel screeches) (wind whooshes) -My first thought when I saw it looked like a coin counter or something like that.

(wind whooshes) -A really elaborate can coaster.

-Coaster rings is a real problem.

(all laugh) -So, Spun it behind light.

Would that maybe project something?

-Yeah, I'm like, "My cat would love this."

-A cat toy.

-Yeah.

-[Justin] What is that supposed to be?

-Well, I was starting to draw a cat, but I now realized I don't know how to draw a cat.

-(Emily and Mike laugh) -Your cat'... -What, what?

-(Emily and Mike laughing) -Yeah.

-The whiskers come out.

-All right- -Well, you draw a cat.

We are getting off task.

(Mike laughs) -As the project manager- -So...

I say we need to refocus.

(wind whooshes) -It looks like a filter of some kind.

-You think?

-You'd put coffee grounds...

I'm not the engineer.

-Oh, what?

(all laugh except Justin) -Oh boy.

-Could it be a multipurpose camping thing that you could start fires with it, right?

-Mm-hmm.

-Ooh.

But then you could also use it as a filter.

-Narrow it down to one.

-Do we lose the cat toy idea?

(upbeat music) -Yeah.

-I'd hate to, with my drawing.

-It is a masterpiece.

-Well, I mean, it doesn't even have ears.

I think just on the drawings alone, we need to eliminate the cat toy.

-Let's go with portable camping ring light... (upbeat music) -Oh boy.

-For cats.

-Oh boy.

These kids are gonna make us look so stupid.

(Emily laughs) -Oh, we're already done... (wheel screeches) (wind whooshes) -What were some things that made these brands stand out?

-[Mike] The students learn about target markets, finance, and branding in a series of stations.

-So our eight pack of battery batteries' actual price was $7.88.

-Oh.

-Okay?

- $7.88.

-[Holli] You're gonna take all that information and you're gonna start creating your quick pitch.

Our inspiration was the show "Shark Tank."

-[Mike] 30 minutes to create a two-minute presentation.

This pitch will decide the winning idea, winning team.

Who's gonna buy our product?

-[Holli] Who are we trying to sell this to?

-Solve bad angles- -Oh my gosh, that looks so good.

-Or if only one person is gonna talk, you can do that.

-That's like a basic model, and we'll show how it works on the inside.

-[Mike] Can I interrupt you guys for a quick second?

Okay.

Tell me what your thing is.

-A cabinet that lowers down to the height so that you can reach it.

So, on a pulley system, that goes down on a remote so that you can... You don't have to use step stools.

-You guys can have a good presentation?

-Yes.

-Yes.

-Hopefully.

-Hopefully.

(wheel screeches) (wind whooshes) -[Mike] So what are we calling it first?

-Have we established what it does?

Do we even know what it does yet?

We're already... We're into branding and naming it, but we don't know what it does.

-[Mike] I think we've gotta go with just the generic camping tool and get it branded.

Well, let's go with Adventure Wheel.

-Figure out what price you are gonna sell it for.

-I'm gonna say 9 to 12.

-You're in charge, you can- -You're right, -I am.

-Whatever you want.

-I'm putting a range.

-Okay.

-We're gonna have you create a pitch.

-Somebody's gonna be fumbling through a backpack trying to find their flint, filters.

-We gotta make our logo.

-Feel like there should be like a little flame.

-Put whiskers on it.

(Tanya laughs) -You have (soft music) just a couple more minutes.

-Oh no.

(chuckles) -Okay, speed round.

-I'm working on it!

(soft music) -A or D, D, D. -My God... (Emily chuckles) -A. I still like my cat drawing (cat meows) (wind whooshes) (Wheel screeches) -[Mike] Now the moment of truth for everyone, including us.

(all applauding and cheering) -The Adventure Wheel.

-It's a water filter, it's a light holder, and it's a coaster, all in one.

-[Emily] And for the low, low price of only 11.99, this makes a great stocking stuffer for your camper, friends, and family.

-It's not an adventure without the Adventure Wheel.

-Yeah!

(all applaud) (upbeat music) -Our product is called Smog Atmosphere Technology Space Systems.

It is made out of plastic and it comes in three different colors.

-The Multi-Spin is for anyone that likes to be organized.

(upbeat music) -[Holli] Team number nine.

(upbeat music) (all applaud and cheer) -Have you ever got a fork out of the dishwasher just to find out there's still food stuff within the prongs?

Yuck!

(all applauding and cheering) -Do you ever wonder what your dog does in the day and just hate having to kennel them away?

Well, now you don't have to.

With Dogged Up, you dig it, we dog it.

-Do you have any questions?

(wind whooshes) -[Holli] Make your way up here, team number 11.

(upbeat music) (all applaud and cheer) -Have you ever had trouble reaching your cabinets?

-Mm-hmm.

-If you do Our product is for you.

Our product, Wheeliez, is designed for adjusting your cabinet height easily without taking up any counter space.

It is hidden behind the cabinets so it's not visible to you or the guests you may have.

-You buy and customize your own cabinets, and we come and install the whole Wheeliez package.

-The whole shabang.

(all applaud and cheer) -So are you their first customer?

-Yeah.

(laughs) -[Holli] Drum roll, please.

(children banging) -Team number 11.

-Whoo!

Team number 11, come on up to receive your prize.

-[Mike] Tell me what you thought about doing this activity all day.

-It was fun to get to invent something and design something.

-I thought it was fun just to be, like, creative and stuff.

(upbeat music) -I thought it was fun.

We got out of school, so... (Mike laughs) -[Mike] From nothing to business idea in a jam-packed five hours.

The INVENTURE Day folks have been doing this throughout the state since 2017, with more than 600 students participating each year.

Is this unusual?

Are there other places around the country that do something like this?

-[Tanya] Not to my knowledge, no.

-[Mike] What's the big-picture thing you hope to accomplish by doing this?

-So I think it's really important that kids just learn that they can be entrepreneurs at any age.

I think it's also important to learn that an entrepreneur doesn't have to be just a business owner.

-This can happen for them.

They don't have to wait to be adults to be an entrepreneur, or to start a business.

They can start right now.

-They get the ideas and they're like, "I'm gonna run with this," and that's awesome.

It's awesome to see the ability to just go with it and make it work.

-[Tanya] The best part is just the kids themselves.

The creativity that they have, their imagination, the teamwork, and they're so happy and confident at the end of the day after they've created their product.

-Good piece.

-But what -What about the Adventure Wheel?

-I thought it was a cool idea.

-I'd buy an Adventure Wheel.

-Maybe, yeah.

-I would too.

-Looked kinda cool.

-Yeah.

-Okay.

-You guys are being nice.

You don't have to be that nice.

-Everything else is too expensive.

-Like ours?

-Yeah.

-Like ours.

Like ours.

(Wheel screeches) (wind whooshes) -[Holli] What was the highlight of everything you did?

What was the highlight?

-Teaching Mike how to draw a cat, I think is what we should take away from this.

-I've never learned.

-Just getting to bounce ideas off with these guys who I work with all the time, in kind of a- -Mm-hmm.

-Different capacity.

-I think it's a valuable lesson in thinking quickly, on your feet, and trying to problem solve.

-In all seriousness, this is kind of what we do.

So to be able to do it in a different atmosphere is kinda fun.

-Yeah.

-Does the therapy come later -or... -Yeah.

(all laugh) (bouncy inquisitive music) -Wondering what that mysterious red widget is based on?

Well, it's one of these, an old slide projector carousel.

Something those kids and probably some of you have never seen before.

(upbeat music) That's what this place is all about.

(upbeat music) Showing kids of all ages new things (upbeat music) and exploring the science in our lives.

(upbeat music) Exploring and trying new things doesn't need to stop when we get older.

Just ask Betty Sayers.

(upbeat music) -[Mike] At an age when most folks retire, Betty Sayers became a beekeeper.

- There.

-It could be that I was -(cards shuffling) -never a good bridge player -(club swinging) and never learned to play golf, so who knows?

-(lid clicking) -(air puffing) It calms the bees.

-You know what you can do?

-[Mike] What's that?

-[Betty] Mister, you can just keep pumping that.

- Okay.

(air puffing) I'm useful.

(upbeat music) (upbeat music) (lid snapping) -[Mike] What we out here doing today?

-[Betty] I was just checking to see how they are coming with their honey production.

There's liquid in there when you see this real light wax, they make that, they cover it and they're waiting till the water evaporates outta the honey to get it just the consistency they want.

But all these cells are filled.

You can see they're glistening.

(buzzing) -[Mike] Bees are kinda like family to you, aren't they?

-[Betty] Yeah, they are.

I pay as much attention to 'em.

I'm always learning.

I'm reading and talking to beekeepers.

-[Mike] Learning and trying new things.

For a few decades she was a teacher and grant writer.

She launched an online magazine showcasing rural entrepreneurs and became one.

Influenced by stories she was telling about people creating things.

-[Betty] To see the sacrifice that people will make to just do stuff that they wanna do was inspiring to me.

-[Mike] About the same time Betty made a bucket list.

- And as I looked at that, the very top thing was beekeeping.

(bees buzzing) -[Mike] You're allergic to bees.

-[Betty] I am.

I had a terrible experience.

(bees buzzing) -[Mike] If I'm making a bucket list of things I wanna do, (Betty laughing) probably the thing at the top is not something that's gonna make me horrible sick.

- That's gonna kill me.

Kill me.

Yeah, that's exactly right.

- But you did that.

-mm hmm -[Mike] In spite of that, Betty loves bees.

-[Betty] That is pollen that is packed in its legs and it wants, it's looking for someone to unload it.

It has to get in the hive to do that.

See that?

It's so fun.

(buzzing) I love to watch them.

-[Mike] She's intrigued by their society and the role of the queens and appreciates how hard they work to make honey.

But what to do with it?

- I just thought it's not fun giving it away.

It's all right.

But the bees work so hard to make it and I should be able to come up with something.

-[Mike] Buzz Savories was the answer.

It's honey and candles, but the main product is two kinds of honey mustard Betty worked hard to perfect.

The first one, partnering with a local brewery to make a spicy beer mustard.

How many different iterations did you go through till you got something that was like this is good.

- I would say there would've been 50.

- That?

Okay.

I asked Betty to show us how you make honey mustard.

Then she put me to work.

(upbeat music) -[Betty] This is the salt, turmeric, all spice.

This is mustard powder.

-[Mike] And finally.

-[Betty] The very precious -(bee buzzing) -and very unique, lovely honey.

-[Mike] Made by all those hardworking bees.

- Yes, yes.

(machine whirring) - It's a big mixer.

(machine whirring) Sloppy stuff, isn't it?

-[Betty] It is and it has to be carefully done because if it isn't, the jars explode.

(whistle sliding) (explosion rumbling) I usually make eight gallons at a time, maybe once every three weeks or maybe just once a month.

(upbeat music) -[Mike] So what do you like best about having this business?

-[Betty] I think it is that it's never finished.

It's always the next thing.

-[Michelle] So remember, just wait till I point.

Okay.

-[Mike] And yeah, Betty's a TikTok star.

- Betty Sayers here at Buzz Savories.

Today, we are making a luscious, simple, delicious chicken salad.

-[Mike] Her marketing includes TikTok videos made with help from her daughter-in-law.

(bubble popping) - Remember, we start with a local honey.

It's very important, this honey flavors the dressing.

(bubble popping) And now I'm just going to smash, smash, smash, smash, smash.

(bubble popping) And I'm going to put this glaze on and if only you were here.

-[Michelle] So she's really natural and she has fun with them and she's got viewers and comments from all over the world coming to her through her TikTok.

She is one of the most creative people you will ever meet.

She never ceases to amaze me.

I hope I can be like her when I'm her age.

- Chicken salad, (bubble popping) the best you'll ever eat.

- Good job.

- Thank you.

(gentle music) -[Mike] Some of our What If stories are about entrepreneurs with an idea that will eventually make them rich, this isn't one of them.

Betty isn't making millions off her Buzz Savories products, but says she's more than covering her production costs.

She sells online and has products on shelves of a bunch of Nebraska stores.

And that's just fine.

You seem to be enjoying this a lot.

- Oh, I do.

It is fun.

It is fun and I'm never without something new to think about.

I like Tina Turner's, What does love have to do with it?

What does age have to do with it?

Either you're living or you're not.

(bees buzzing) And if you're not, then don't hang out with me 'cause I'm living.

(gentle music) It's just too much fun.

(bees buzzing) (bees buzzing) - Water is a powerful force that can help create a lot of things, like a geyser or candy.

Just talk to a candy scientist.

(whoosh) (bubbling sounds) (clunking sounds) -[Tessa] Spinning the protons, -[Karen] Hydrate pectin.

-[Katie] Gelation, like a high methoxyl pectin.

-[Karen] Texture analysis.

-[Tessa] Solubility, moisture, crystallization.

-[Mike] This is science, candy science.

-That's usually a good conversation starter.

Hi, my name's Tessa.

I'm a candy scientist.

-[Mike] A candy scientist who created a candy science business called Sprinkk.

-[Tessa] Sprinkk is a product development lab for candy innovation.

We help people take their ideas, create them into a physical product.

A few drops of espresso.

-[Mike] Clients range from individuals trying to create something from scratch to established candy companies from around the world.

-[Tessa]We'll make samples in our lab.

We'll tinker with texture or flavor or color until you think it's just right, and then from there we'll scale it up.

-[Mike] As a kid, Tessa always had candy nearby, a lot of Twizzlers, taking a little purse of candy on vacations.

She helped with her dad's construction business sometimes pretending the concrete mixer was making jelly beans instead.

And she had a passion for science.

-[Tessa] I think I'm a natural nerd.

That I've just always been curious about how things work and how to put things together, take things apart, and I was never really told that, STEM isn't an option.

-[Mike] With her master's degree in food science and technology and almost 10 years in the candy industry, she helped create a lot of candy you'd recognize, Tessa returned home to Nebraska to create this.

(upbeat music) -[Tessa] I started Sprinkk to allow people to create new things, to bring those ideas that they have and allow them to come to life in the candy industry.

♪ Yeah ♪ -This one's heavy.

-Okay.

Perfect.

-[Mike] Any day you'll see lots happening here, like new equipment arriving.

-[Tessa] So, this is our new taffy equipment.

There's a candy cutter in here.

This is like Christmas.

(laughs) -[Mike] Nichole manages the candy products they're developing, like pre-exercise, vitamin-infused gummies Katie is working on.

-[Katie] We're trying to get it to be a firmer gummy versus it's been turning out a little bit soft for what we think the client wants.

We're adding more pectin because there could be not enough pectin compared to all the actives that are in this gummy.

-[Karen] Okay, so this is our texture analyzer.

We use this to measure the firmness and the springiness of a gummy.

We use it to simulate chewing.

Different ingredients interact differently with one another.

Sometimes if we have more gelatin, the gummy might be more firm and bouncy.

Sometimes if we have more pectin, it can be much softer.

Starch gummies can be very soft and very sticky.

-So, water activity is a measurement that we use for making sure that the candy is shelf stable.

It's a food safety measurement.

So, water activity will allow mold to grow if it's too high.

-[Mike] Is a lot of what you're doing, looking at the amounts of water and things?

-It is something that we control throughout the process.

-[Mike] Lots of science in all this.

-[Tessa] I think even food scientists are often surprised at the amount of chemistry that goes into candy.

-[Mike] Of course, we couldn't be here without picking flavors and making some candy.

-We have a whole slew of different stuff on hand.

Vanilla ice cream, key lime pie.

-Apples, some pomegranate.

-Got some exotic flavors.

Tropical flavors.

-This is hard.

-We have... -Pickles.

-Pickles.

-Pickles.

-That's a good one.

(chuckles) -That could be interesting.

-Yeah.

-All right, let's do that.

What are we making?

-[Tessa] This is our hard candy.

We cook this up to 290 degrees.

See if we can't keep it from flowing off the table.

-Off the thing.

So, the starting point of this is what?

-[Tessa] This is sugar and corn syrup and water.

-[Mike] Okay.

-[Tessa] We're just trying to get it to cool as evenly.

-[Mike] Okay.

-As possible.

So, we're just gonna fold it so we get the hot side folded in and expose new surfaces.

I'm actually gonna have you add -your pickle flavor.

-Okay.

It smells very pickly.

-[Tessa] A few drops of green food coloring.

This is just citric acid.

And this acid just adds some tartness to it.

-[Mike] Okay.

-Now, just, kind of, stir it together in there.

Ooh, that's pickly.

(chuckles) Ooh.

It smells like pickles.

-It's very pickly.

-Like, really pickly.

I'm gonna have you start mixing it that way.

Just keep it- -Away from you.

(laughs) You just want it away from you?

-[Tessa] As it hit that high-temperature candy, you're getting a flash of those volatile components.

That's what we were smelling.

-[Mike] It takes patience with this, doesn't it?

It does.

I think, you're probably ready to a point where you can start to pull it.

Grab the ends of it and just pull it out.

There you go.

And then fold it back together.

-Pull it back together quick before it -Yup.

(laughs) You know, if we pull it a lot and we get a lot of air bubbles in there, it makes it easier to chew.

It's less dense.

What we're doing now with this under the hot light is we're trying to keep it above the glass transition temperature.

-Okay.

-All right.

-There you go.

-There we go.

Come on.

-[Tessa] As soon as it goes through, we want it to drop below the glass transition temperature so that we can turn it into (candy shatters) a glass.

(candy shattering) -It's candy.

All right.

Pickles?

-[Tessa] Very dilly.

-[Mike] That's a lot of pickle.

-Mm-hmm.

-Tastes just like it.

-Mm-hmm.

Well, you got to taste right.

-Sweet pickles.

(Tessa and Mike laughing) (glass shatters) -[Mike] Another part of Sprinkk is a couple hours away in Tessa's hometown, a small factory in a building that was part of the family's construction business.

What's the purpose of this for Sprinkk?

-This is truly what fills the gap between what we do in the lab in Omaha and full-scale manufacturing.

We can do small batches here.

-[Mike] Friends and family helped build this.

Same with the fruit snacks they're making today.

-Oh, Grandma Norma's here.

-Absolutely stunning.

-[Mike] Norma, with a passion for natural wellness, makes syrup from her elderberry trees.

-[Norma] And as time went on, I thought, "This would really be nice if we could put this in gummies of some way."

-[Mike] Tessa took the syrup recipe and transformed it into Norma's Fruit Snacks.

-[Tessa] We just started the elderberry, a batch of elderberry.

(Norma clapping) -[Tessa] I think a lot of my creativity comes from her roots down through that side of the family.

-That's the original.

(laughs) -[Mike] What was it like working with your granddaughter on a project like this?

I'm gonna have- -[Norma] Beautiful.

Beautiful.

It really has humbled me.

Can you get both of us in the picture?

-[Justin] Yeah.

-Oh, I told him just to zoom in on you.

-[Mike] Norma's Snacks manufacturing started in an Albion church kitchen before this was built.

It's a product they sell that also helps Sprinkk test its business model.

-[Tessa] So, Norma's being a client of Sprinkk allows me to step into the shoes of the things that our clients are seeing, of starting up a company, going through retailers, figuring out packaging, figuring out the shelf life and different things about the product.

I get to experience that through the Norma's brand.

Cheers our bees?

Cheers.

(upbeat music) -[Mike] Family is a big reason Tessa came back and opened her quickly-growing business in Nebraska.

-[Tessa] It's so fun to be able to show it off, finally.

-[Mike] For lots of open-house visitors, including a niece and nephew and her mom.

-We should try it, look at all these cool candies.

-Is it good?

-Mm.

-[Mike] I'm curious, as a kid, was she a candy junkie?

Yes and no.

But she's always been a creator.

If you're looking to start a candy company or if you have a candy company and you're looking to create something new, you can find- -[Mike] Biggest disaster that you ever had to deal with?

- She tried to make edible tape a lot.

So, she would try melting cheese or she would try melting marshmallows and, you know, making it into, like, little band-aid-looking things and didn't ever work.

Other people are like, "Wow, how do you think like this?

How do you work like this?"

But, to us, it's just part of her.

-[Tessa] So, what did you tell him?

Did you tell him good things?

-Sure.

(Tessa chuckling) I didn't say anything bad.

Did I?

-What is there bad to say?

-She made a lot of messes.

-I won't deny that.

-[Mike] Science can be messy.

Sometimes experiments don't work, but when all the ingredients come together, magic happens.

Like the mixture of scientific interest, love of candy, and endless ideas that was young Tessa.

It would eventually create this.

-[Tessa] If you would've told 10 year old Tessa that she could be a scientist making gummies for a living and get paid for it, would've never believed it.

But it's a dream job.

(scientists laughing) (playing on xylophone) - By the way, all the music you've been hearing in our stories, all from Nebraska composers and creators.

Visit our website to find out how your music could be featured on our project, also to watch all of our stories and episodes.

(playing on xylophone) (upbeat music) That's it for now, thanks to the folks here at the luminarium for letting us play and learn.

And thank you for watching "What If..." (upbeat music) (upbeat music) - [Mike] More shoulder, more shoulder.

- [Justin] Walk in.

(upbeat music) -What If... (chuckles) - What If...!

(all laugh) - I want to bite it.

(speaker on intercom) (girl touching microphone gasps) (laughing) - [Mike] I'm so nervous, guys.

- What If..!

(all laugh) (upbeat music) (upbeat music) (upbeat music) (upbeat music) (upbeat music)