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A Guide to Building Your DIY Solar Oven

solar cooker

Middle School

What if you could harness the power of the sun to cook your favorite treats? That's not just cool, it’s fire! Include a DIY solar cooker in your lesson plan, and watch your middle school students get hands-on with the power of solar energy. This engaging project makes learning fun and enables students to use their knowledge of solar energy, heat transfer, and sustainability in a real-world application. And the best part? It's super simple to build. Solar cookers work by converting sunlight into heat energy that can cook food—just like a conventional oven, except using natural energy directly from the sun! No power-company middleman.

The guide below provides a step-by-step process for building a simple solar oven.

DIY Solar Oven Supplies

  1. A cardboard pizza box (one per student or group)
  2. Aluminum foil
  3. Clear plastic wrap
  4. Black construction paper
  5. Newspapers
  6. Tape or glue
  7. Ruler or a straight stick
  8. Box knife or scissors (for teacher use)
  9. Thermometer (optional for measuring the temperature inside the oven) 

DIY Solar Oven Procedures

infographic on how to make a solar cooker

  1. Prepare the Pizza Box: Use a box knife or scissors with a straight edge as a guide; cut a three-sided flap in the lid of the pizza box, leaving at least a 1-inch border around the three sides. Leave one side attached. 
  2. Reflect the Sun: To reflect sunlight into the box, use tape or glue to cover the inner side of the flap with aluminum foil, shiny side out. Make the foil as smooth as possible, like a mirror. 
  3. Create a Window: Seal the box’s opening with clear plastic wrap to create a window that lets sunlight in and retains heat. Use two layers of plastic wrap —one layer on the top and one on the bottom side of the lid.
  4. Insulate: Line the bottom of the box with black construction paper to absorb heat, and use crumpled newspapers to create insulation around the cooking area.
  5. Adjust the Angle: Use the ruler to prop open the flap that's been cut and lined with aluminum foil. This flap acts as a reflector, directing sunlight into the oven. By adjusting the angle of the flap with a ruler (or similar object), you can optimize how much sunlight is reflected onto the cooking area inside the box. This helps to concentrate the heat needed to cook the food effectively. The ruler allows for precise control over the flap's angle, which is crucial for maximizing the oven's efficiency during different times of the day as the sun's position changes.
  6. Cooking Time: Place the food inside the oven and position the box where it can receive maximum sunlight. Adjust the foil flap to optimize sunlight reflection into the box. Cooking times will vary based on the conditions.

Example of a solar cooker

Students will enjoy experimenting with different foods, comparing cooking times, or even measuring temperature changes using a thermometer to integrate math skills.

Science Concepts Demonstrated by Solar Ovens

  • Solar Energy Conversion: Discuss how solar energy is converted into thermal energy and why materials like black paper and aluminum foil are important for absorbing and reflecting heat.
  • Comparing Insulation Principles: Explore why insulation is important by comparing how different materials affect the oven’s temperature. Extend the discussion by comparing solar ovens to igloos. Both igloos and solar ovens use insulation to manage thermal energy. Reference Igloos, the 'Chillest' Form of Engineering.
  • Green Energy: Highlight the benefits of using renewable resources like solar energy over traditional energy sources.

Here’s how this activity connects to various NGSS standards: 

Science & Engineering Practices Disciplinary Core Ideas Crosscutting Concepts
  • Asking questions and defining problems
  • Planning and carrying out investigations
  • Engaging in argument from evidence
  • Obtaining, evaluation, and communicating information
  • Constructing explanations and designing solutions
  • MS-PS3.B: Conservation of Energy and Energy Transfer
  • MS-PS3.D: Energy in Chemical Processes and Everyday Life
  • HS-PS3.B: Conservation of Energy and Energy Transfer
  • Cause and effect
  • Scale, proportion, and quantity
  • Energy and matter

Performance Expectations

  • MS-PS3-3. Apply scientific principles to design, construct, and test a device that either minimizes or maximizes thermal energy transfer.
  • MS-PS3-4. Plan an investigation to determine the relationships among the energy transferred, the type of matter, the mass, and the change in the average kinetic energy of the particles as measured by the temperature of the sample.
  • MS-PS3-5. Construct, use, and present arguments to support the claim that when the kinetic energy of an object changes, energy is transferred to or from the object.
  • HS-PS3-3. Design, build, and refine a device that works within given constraints to convert one form of energy into another form of energy.

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