Engineering Students Bake with the Help of the Sun

Students in Mrs. Girone’s Engineering Applications class had a tasty lesson to kick off their unit on Alternative Energy. Over the course of this unit students will be exploring alternative energy sources with a focus on solar energy.  The class talked about how these simple yet effective solar ovens have been designed for use worldwide and are especially helpful to solve problems such as pasteurizing water in rural communities in India and Africa.

To demonstrate the power of the sun, students built solar ovens using pizza boxes, aluminum foil, plastic wrap, black construction paper, and a dowel or straw.  They determined the angle to place the lid, decided which direction would get the best sun, and got to baking.  Some groups kept it simple by just using the premade edible dough while others brought in chocolate chips, candies, and even Pop Tarts to make their own creations. It was lots of fun & you can't beat getting to bake cookies for a lesson!