Last week we completed one of our favorite projects of the year…Solar Smores. It is a great introduction to our solar energy unit. You can make a solar oven with just a few basic supplies: a cardboard box, aluminum foil, cling wrap, and tape! Don’t forget the yummy smores ingredients!
How to make a solar oven:
- Start with a couple of copy paper lids.
- Line them with foil.
- Place one graham cracker, chocolate, and marshmallow in the oven per child (you can fit about nine in a box).
- Cover the top of the box with cling wrap. Tape well around the edges to seal the cling wrap.
- Set the solar oven in a sunny spot. They only take about 15-20 minutes to make, depending how hot the day is.
- Remove Smores from box. Be careful, the chocolate gets very hot! Top with the second graham cracker and enjoy.
You can also make individual ovens with old shoe boxes, if you prefer. We used to cook solar hot dogs this way!
This is a great science project to teach your students about solar energy! Kids learn that the sun gives us energy in the form of heat. We discuss how the aluminum foil absorbs the sunlight and how the cling wrap traps the heat.
The day after the project I have the students write about the steps to make Solar Smores. You can grab these Solar Smores free resources.
