Fun Science Fair Projects

Fun science fair projects take the pain out of education. With global warming being such a strong social and environmental issue these days, it's great to incorporate those issues with children's fun science fair projects. Not only does it increase their awareness about this global concern but it also gives them a way to see what can be done and how they can help.

This solar oven reaches temperatures of 275 degrees. This provides enough heat to kill bacteria and cook food. When cooking in a solar oven, it's important to allow the food to cook for a long period of time and not to concern yourself with overcooking. Solar cookers can be generally be used for six months of the year in colder climates and year-round in warmer climates. The oven needs to be preheated for about half an hour.

What You'll Need:

• Clean pizza box
  
• Black construction paper
  
• Aluminium foil
  
• Clear plastic (heavy plastic laminate works best)
  
• Non-toxic glue, tape, scissors, magic marker
  
• Wooden dowel or straw

How to Make the Oven:

1.) Draw a border about one inch in width on all sides of the pizza box. Cut three of the sides, leaving the back side intact.
2.) Use this uncut line to form a flap by bending it backwards to get a crease. Fit a piece of aluminium foil inside the flap and glue it on. Measure the opening you have made in the box and cut out a piece of plastic to fit over it. Make sure you cut the piece of plastic a bit larger than the opening it is able to fit under the flap of the box. The plastic will form a tightly sealed window so that no air can come out of the oven.
3.) Fit another piece of aluminium foil on the bottom of the box and glue it into place. Using black construction paper, cover the aluminium foil and tape it down.
4.) Close the top of the box and prop open the flap of the box using the dowel and point towards the sun. Adjust until the aluminium reflects the most sunlight from the window into the inside of the box.

The oven is now ready! It can be fun to test all different sorts of things that can be cooked in there including S'mores, small pizzas, you can even try baking a cake or cookies! You can also have more fun with this experiment by testing how hot the oven gets using a thermometer. If you're doing this with a child, explain to them while creating the oven how this is helping the environment and how they are doing their part to combat global warming.

Note: See the Disclaimer before starting this project.