The production of syrup allows students to experiment and observe changes in matter, boiling points, mixtures and solutions. Aboriginal methods of sap collection demonstrate a knowledge of the maple tree's structure and cycles of growth. During the refinement of the sap to syrup and sugar, an understanding of the process of evaporation and how to control evaporation were demonstrated. The syrup and berries were the principal sources of sweetness in their diet. Sugar from sugar cane was not available in the North and Europeans had not yet introduced honey bees to North America.
Many traditional stories mention maple trees and their sweet sap.
One story Nanabozho and the Maple Trees, speaks of the sap running year round and being thick, so thick that his people could merely break off a branch and drink from the tree. Nanabozho changed the sap so his people would not become lazy and dependent on the sap, forgetting their other skills. Early methods of sap production demonstrate a technology that made efficient and creative use of the materials of the day. Since metals were not available, a folded piece of birch bark acted as a spile and birch bark containers collected the sap that dripped from the spile. The lack of metal also makes the task of producing syrup more difficult.