Solar ovens use the sun’s energy to heat and cook food inside an enclosed space. Using a cardboard box, some clear plastic, and a few other household materials, you can build a small oven that will get hot enough to melt a marshmallow for s’mores or the cheese on your pizza. Challenge yourself to try out different oven designs and make sure to test out your solar oven in a sunny spot to see how hot you can get it!
– Small/ medium cardboard, pizza or shoe box
– Pencil and paper for design sketch
– Clear plastic
– Scissors or box cutter (adult supervision required)
– Tape (duct or masking is best)
– Optional: thermometer, small dowel or stick, bubble wrap or other insulation, aluminum foil, black paper or other material
While building, consider the following challenge questions:
– How will the sun’s energy get into your oven? What kind of material can it get through and what kind of material does it bounce off of?
– How will you make sure the energy stays trapped inside your oven?
– What size or shape do you want to make your oven? Why?
– What can you add or change about your oven design to make it heat up more?
– Where on the outside will you place your oven for testing? Why did you place it there?
– Video for Younger Students
– Video for Older Students
– Written Instructions
Click here to take this challenge to the next level. Think about how you will test your solar oven. How much does it heat up? How long does it take? Record your results and optimize your design!