Solar Cooker

The sun is extremely hot—and a lot of its energy makes it all the way to the Earth! In fact, solar power is strong enough to cook a s’more. This activity will illustrate how strong the sun’s heat is while creating a delicious snack for your kids.

Activity Instructions

Cover one side of a long piece of black poster board (or combine two pieces to make a bigger one) with aluminum foil. Next, create a cone by pulling the opposite ends of the poster board together. Make sure that the foil is facing the middle of the cone that is created.

Tape the ends together so the cone, which should be narrower on one end yet open at both ends, stays intact. Line the bottom of a cardboard box with black construction paper.

Put the cone on top of the paper in the box, with the narrower side toward the bottom. Place one marshmallow on top of a graham cracker square and put it into the cone (add the chocolate later, as it melts too quickly).

Make sure the cracker is level, as it will stay up by resting on the inner sides of the cone. Afterwards, place another s’more on a plate near the solar cooker as a control. Put a thermometer next to each s’more to measure the difference in temperature outside and inside the solar cooker. Check on the s’mores every few minutes until the one in the solar cooker is finished. How long did it take?

Materials

• Cardboard Box
• Black Poster Board
• Tape
• Graham Crackers
• Marshmallows
• Chocolate
• Aluminum Foil
• Black Construction Paper
• Two thermometers

Outcome

This fun science activity for kids teaches how strong the sun really is. It also shows your children how to conduct a science experiment, strengthening their analytical and data collection skills.