As part of their study of thermal energy, fourth grade students researched how to build solar ovens to provide background information for building their own. After much discussion and further research, groups of students put their research into practice by designing their own solar ovens and creating a materials list of items they would need to implement their design. Thanks to the generous donation of many parents, students were able to transform pizza, shoe, and Amazon boxes into working solar ovens by cutting, taping, and gluing black paper, foil, and plastic wrap strategically.
On the first sunny day after the many variations of solar ovens were built, students tested their solar ovens. They believed that the blacktopped area would attract more solar energy so we used the parking lot next to the building to set up. The test subject: s’mores! The fourth graders were excited to watch the sun transform their chocolate and marshmallows into delicious treats. They waited...and waited...and waited. Although it was a sunny morning, some of the ovens took over an hour to melt the chocolate and some chocolate never really melted. The afternoon class saw more success...and more mess.
After the experiment, the kids had lots to say and most thought the activity was a lot of fun, especially since they got to do it with their friends. Many students were overheard talking about what they’d do the next time they built a solar oven, like use more black paper to attract the sunlight, cut a bigger hole, or skip the tape. Others hoped they had all of the materials at home so they could do it again. One student reported the next day that he’d tried solar baking at home with Bagel Bites-turns out, it works!
