Fun Summer Activity: Making a Solar Oven
If your kids are like mine, the two catch phrases of summer break are, “I’m bored!” and “I’m hungry!” Well, I’ve got a fun summer activity that satisfies both of these: a homemade solar oven. Don’t worry, the kids can do 98% of this themselves and you can use materials from your recycling bin. It’s really easy, takes up a solid couple hours, and they get a snack at the end. All wins!
(All picture credit goes to my 7 year old.)
You will Need:
- A Clean (ish) Pizza Box
- Aluminum Foil
- Black Paint
- Packing Tape
- A Glass Dish
- A Paper Towel
To Make the Solar Oven:
- Paint the entire inside of the pizza box black. It may take two coats.
- Once the paint is completely dry, tape the foil to the underside of the pizza box lid.
- Find a spot outside with direct sunlight. Use the packing tape to hold the lid open at an angle that the foil reflects the most light. You want the light to be reflected down into the bottom of the box.
To Cook Your Food:Â
- Place the food you want to cook in the middle of the box on a paper towel and cover it with a glass dish. We made a quesadilla.
2. Leave the oven in the sun and check it periodically to watch your food cook. This quesadilla took about 30 minutes in the solar oven on a clear, hot day.
3. Have an adult use oven mitts to take the glass dish off; it gets hot. Then enjoy your snack!
You can experiment with the solar oven to see what times of day work best and what different foods can be cooked. Pretty much anything that involves melting is a good place to start. This summer we are going to try s’mores, and maybe slice and bake cookies if we can get it hot enough. We may need to add foil to the bottom for that. If you have older kids, you can use this activity to get into the science of thermal energy. Here is a link for information about how larger solar ovens can cook just about anything.
Have you made a solar oven before? What did you make? Be sure to share your experiences in the comments!
