This is part of a series of activities you can explore on #TasteandSmell Day, September 14, and any day.

Scent Exploration for Children 

In honor of World Taste & Smell Day 2023, children’s book author Alexis Wintrob hosted a scent-sational storytime at Bookery Cincy, including a reading from Za Za's Scent-Sational Super Power. Here she shares some suggestions for ways to help youngsters become more scent-aware.

There are so many fun ways explore scent with young children. First is just remembering to follow your nose. Whether you smell something good or…not so good, you can learn from it. It is always fun to have a little scent journal to capture scent observations or fun fragrance finds.  Here are some fragrance activities from the Za Za’s Scent-Sational Super Power  website:

The Scent Memory Game

• Gather an even number of cups and fill sets of two with the same olfactive ingredients. Some possibilities are coffee beans, orange slices, or pickles.

• Next put a blindfold on and mix up the order of the cups. 

• Sniff one and see if you can find cup with the matching scent.

• Repeat for all your pairs of scents.

Compare Fragrances to Scents in Nature

Whether you have a favorite soap, shampoo or perfume or you want to explore new scents, try comparing the product fragrance ingredient descriptions to the ingredients found in nature. Here’s how:

• Go to a fragrance counter (with an adult) to safely sample some scents. Identify some favorites.

• Ask what ingredients are in them and try to find examples of those in nature (e.g., pear, rose, basil).

• Do the ingredients in nature smell like your fragrance? If not, what are the differ

Color Za-Za’s World

Download one of these coloring sheets, and share your work with the author when you’re done!

Za Za’s Scent-Sational Super Power
Za Za Spreads Sweetness

More fragrance activities can be found on Za Za’s Scent-Sational Super Power  website.

Here’s a little about Za Za's Superpower:

Za Za happened upon an astonishing glittery bee named Lizzy who sprinkled her with a cloud of honey-scented sparkles from her shimmering pink and purple antennae. Ever since this encounter, Za Za has a uniquely powerful and heightened sense of smell. She follows her nose and uses this scent super power to explore fabulous fragrance-filled adventures.