It’s Fun to Cook with the Sun!
Make an oven out of a pizza box and amaze your friends! But be sure to ASK AN ADULT TO SUPERVISE THIS PROJECT. This oven can reach temperatures of 250′ and higher, so be careful that you do not burn yourself!
- One large box
- One small pizza box
- Old newspapers and other insulating materials
- Black construction paper
- Cardboard
- Aluminum foil
- A drinking straw
- Non-toxic glue
- Scissors
- Heavy-weight plastic laminate (which you might find at school or at an office-supply store)
- DO NOT USE: any materials that will give off toxic fumes when heated, such as duct tape or styrofoam.
- First, take your large box, and line it with insulating materials such as crumpled newspapers.
- Set your pizza box inside of the big box-this will become your oven.
- Crumple the newspapers and fill the space in between the two boxes. Now, cover the insulated areas between the two boxes with cardboard. Secure the areas tightly.
- Spread non-toxic glue over the interior surface of the pizza box. Next, line the sides of the pizza box with aluminum foil. Adhere the black construction paper to the bottom of the pizza box.
- On the top cover of the pizza box, draw a square that measures 1″ from all of the sides. Then, cut along three of the lines, but leave the fourth line near the box’s hinge uncut. Carefully open the flap.
- Now, wrap a piece of aluminum foil around the flap, smoothing out the wrinkles. Secure it in place with glue. Underneath the flap you’ve just constructed, place your plastic laminate and seal it with tape or glue so that no air can escape.
- Prop open the top flap with straws so that the aluminum will reflect the sunlight. Your food will go inside of the pizza box.
- You will need to allow the oven to preheat for at least a half an hour. For best results, try this experiment on a sunny day. Try cooking simple things like s’mores or toast to begin with. Food will take longer to cook in your solar oven than in a conventional oven, so be make sure to check that everything has been cooked all the way through before you eat it. Have fun!
