We learned about solar energy today by making s’mores in our own home made solar oven. Here are the supplies we used:

Of course, we had to sample our ingredients, just to make sure they were fresh!

First, we drew a square on the lid of a pizza box about one inch from the sides. I cut out three sides of the square and then folded the lid on the fourth uncut side. Then Nicholas glued foil to the inside of the lid.

He also glued foil on the inside bottom of the box then glued black construction paper on top of that.

We used a sheet protector to make a plastic sheet and taped it to the inside of our created opening in the lid. It is important that this seal be as airtight as possible.

Next it was time to start up the oven and set out the ingredients!

We closed the oven and propped up the lid with a stick. Solar energy took over from there…

We had fun making this hands-on project to learn about solar energy. The foil reflects the sunlight through the plastic down into the oven which doubles the amount of light entering the oven. The black paper on the bottom of the oven absorbs the light and converts it to heat. The plastic keeps the heat from escaping. Although we didn’t check the temperature in our oven, supposedly it can reach 275 degrees on a sunny day!

But who really cares about the science behind it when you can bite into to ooey, gooey yumminess like this!