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Sent in by:
Scot of CA, Caroline and Libby of Needham, MA
Harness the sun's heat to cook up a tasty treat.
- 2 large sheets of black poster board
- aluminum foil
- black construction paper
- cardboard box
- pizza box
- newspaper
- tape
- book
- resealable plastic baggies
- graham crackers
- marshmallows
- chocolate bar
- 3 thermometers
- Check with an adult before you begin.
- Scot of CA sent in a design for a cone-shaped Solar Cooker. Caroline and Libby sent in a design for a pizza box Solar Cooker. You can just make one of these Solar Cookers or make them both to see which one cooks a s'more the fastest.
- To make Scot's Solar Cooker, glue two pieces of black poster board together to make one long piece. Cover one side with aluminum foil.
- Bend the poster board, foil side in, into a cone shape and tape it together. The cone should still be open on both ends.
- Put black construction paper in the bottom of a cardboard box. This dark surface will absorb heat into the bottom of the box.
- Prop the cone in the box with the narrower opening pointing down.
- Put a graham cracker with a marshmallow on top of it in a resealable baggie. Chocolate melts faster than marshmallows, so it works best to cook the marshmallow first and add the chocolate later.
- Put the baggie on the bottom of the box in the center of the cone.
- To make Caroline and Libby's pizza box Solar Cooker, put a few sheets of newspaper in the bottom of a pizza box. Cover the newspaper with black construction paper to absorb heat.
- Cut a flap out of the top of the pizza box two inches from the sides and front but attached in the back. Bend it back and cover the inside of the flap with aluminum foil.
- Tape plastic wrap across the hole left by the flap.
- Put a graham cracker with a marshmallow on it on top of the black paper in the bottom of the box. Close the box.
- Use a book or tape to prop open the flap so that the aluminum foil can catch the sunlight and reflect it onto the marshmallow.
- Make an extra s'more to be the control. Don't put this one in a Solar Cooker. If the control s'more cooks as well as the ones in the Solar Cookers, you will know that the Solar Cookers aren't working better than the sun by itself. Predict how long you think it will take to cook the s'more and which cooker will get hotter and cook faster.
- You need the sun to make your Solar Cookers work, so you'll need to do your cooking outside.
- Once you set up your Solar Cookers outside, put a thermometer inside each one and one on the control s'more. This will help you compare the temperature in the Solar Cooker to the temperature outside. If the Solar Cookers are working, it will be hotter inside the cookers than it is outside on the control.
- Check your Solar Cookers every 15 minutes to make sure they aren't in the shade. If the sun moves, move the cookers so they stay in the sun.
- Time how long it takes to cook the s'mores. Which cooker got hotter? Which one baked more quickly? Why do you think it was faster? send your results to ZOOM.
- When your marshmallows are almost done, add the chocolate to the s'mores, wait a minute for it to get soft, and enjoy a tasty treat!
Can you think up an even better Solar Cooker design? You will need a container for the air, like a shoebox or a plastic container; something to let the sun shine in, like plastic wrap; and materials that help absorb the sunlight, like black paper. Build your Solar Cooker and compare its cooking time with the ones you've already tested. Did you improve the cooking time? Did the cooker get hotter? What did you change about the Solar Cooker design? What materials did you use to build it? Why do you think it was or wasn't faster? Be sure to share your predictions and conclusions with ZOOMscientists everywhere.
Cruz, age 13 of Colorado wrote:
i cook a hotdog
Orrieon, age 12 of Bridgeport, CT wrote:
It worked very well. My friends made some and their smores were goooey!!! Just remember, not to keep your marshmellows and chocolate in your pocket while cooking because it will melt in your pants. HA HA HA!!!
Alex, age 15 of Waterloo, WI wrote:
The marshmallow exploded
Bob of Chicago, IL wrote:
i cooked cookies and they turned golden brown and the were delious! and I also cookied a hot dog and it began to SWET ok Bye!
Lola wrote:
my chocolate bar melted. pretty awesome
Shane, age 13 of Berlin, CO wrote:
When I used my solar cooker, it was absolutely amazing! My food cooked so well and it was amazing.
Jula of New York City, NY wrote:
Its was terrible! I tried it 4 times and made 4 solar cookers! My frinds tried it too on a sunny day and it didnt work!
Katy, age 12 of Deltona, FL wrote:
Well it took a half hour to melt them completely.
Vakiea, age 15 of Warsaw, NC wrote:
It was pretty cool... The temparture went to about 120
Wyatt, age 9 of Falcon Heights, MN wrote:
(I made the cooker with a black bottomed box and reflective poster board.) WOW! I put a marshmallow in a plastic bag at the bottom. I left the cooker for 25 minutes and when I returned, some of the marshmallow was toasted and part of the plastic bag was melted!!!
Sherlia of Victoria, Australia wrote:
I tryed the solar cooker by putting chocolate and it melted so quick because it was a very sunny day! MMMMMM!!!
Michael, age 11 of Sarasota, FL wrote:
My cone only got up to 150 degrees, but the pizza box was 200 degrees!
Austin, age 10 of Haverstraw, NY wrote:
I cooked a hot dog and the inside temperature was 175 degrees F. The outside temperature was 104 degrees F. Works great!
Lauren, age 14 of Hartford, CT wrote:
We made one in science class!! It was fanominal!!! I ran home constructed one all of my own! My friends and I liked it so much that we started a solar cooker club and once a week we get together and cook w/ the sun!!! WHOOOTT!
Nicole of Sattelite Beach, FL wrote:
Nothing at all happen when I tried it.. It was hot enough out and I tried 25 times and no results...
Rachael, age 12 of Tallahassee, FL wrote:
Mine cooked in about 45 minutes. IT was so good! All my sisters and brothers wanted one so I did it about 5 times!
Kristin and Josie of New York, DC wrote:
we cooked quiche mmm!!!
Erin, age 15 of Putnam, CT wrote:
i made a sausage and it was really good it was cooked all the way threw
Ronnie, age 15 of East Hartford, CT wrote:
I experienced the heat involved with the molecules which heated up my marshmallow to melt as it grew larger. It eventually got burnt.
Jensen, age 11 of Phoenix, AZ wrote:
When I cooked cookies they did not harden but they were great!
Dominic, age 11 of San Jose, CA wrote:
I actually made my own out of glass, cardboard, foil and black construction paper. Black absorbs the most heat. Mines heated to 150 degrees. I was sure it was much hotter than that. I cooked crutons.
Jalerna, age 13 of California wrote:
What happened was the choclated melted so it wasnt hard I enjioyed beng in the fresh air and doing the project.
Maddi, age 10 of Dalles, OR wrote:
its so cool I made browies it tasted good
Turner, age 14 of Snellville, GA wrote:
we cooked marshmellows on it.
Jeremy, age 11 of Palm Bay, FL wrote:
The smore was cooked in about 1 hour and 15 minutes. I made the pizza box solar cooker.
Darius, age 13 of Atlanta, GA wrote:
we cook smores in them and my solar cooker cooked some cookies
Patrick, age 11 of Sarasota, FL wrote:
when I did it it took about 1 hor 15 min to cook it was easy for the choclate to melt but tyhe marshmellow didinnt get to soft.
Jacob & Nathaniel of Toronto, ON wrote:
It got over a 100 degree it cooked a hot dog in 1 hour and 25 minutes
Mitchel, age 13 of Brooksville, FL wrote:
I put the solar cooker outside at 10. 00 oclock this moring and I checked it every 15 minutes. The temperature inside was over 110 degrees and the outside was almost 90 degrees.
Breanna of Menomenee Falls, WI wrote:
It worked so well. But I Cahnged it by putting it in a small garbage can it cooked a smore in only 6 minutes
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