Montgomery Academy eighth grade scientists in Mrs. Stefos's chemistry class recently started a new unit learning concepts related to chemical reactions and energy. For this particular experiment and observation, students asked questions that arose from careful observation of a flameless heater in an MRE (meal ready to eat), identifying design flaws and brainstorming ideas to design a solution for a flameless heater that heats food through a chemical process that transfers energy... but first, they needed to try out the MREs themselves! Student reactions to the final food products predictably varied wildly!