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Friday's Internet Edition, November 21, 2008.
Taste like Science
Arcohe students build solar ovens
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Arcohe student David Kitchener shows off his innovative solar oven design at the third annual solar oven cook-off. Kitchener used various solar oven models found online to create his own oven.
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By Kymm Griffin
Staff Writer
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Learning to cook can bring its own challenges, but learning how to build a solar oven that actually cooks lunch definitely offers unique challenges. From the start, young chefs struggle with learning to add a little bit more of this or little bit less of that. But, when Arcohe School seventh graders learned to cook with solar ovens, they learned about adding a little bit more foil, possibly added a few mirrors and even some ceramic tile.
The annual May science assignment is straight forward and a favorite among students. Simply build a solar oven that works. There are no size restrictions, no material restrictions, and no food restrictions.
Science teacher Melissa Herrera encourages the students to research the best solar oven plans online and then build one entirely at home with whatever supplies are on hand.
The grading is also kept simple. If the oven cooks lunch, then the student receives an A. If the oven is built on time, but doesn’t cook lunch, then the student receives a C.
“Part of the assignment is the trial and error process,” said Herrera.
The process of trial and error proved vital for Jackson Vandenburg, whose first attempt at home was unsuccessful. His basic plans included a round concave disk of mirrors to direct the sun’s heat on a jar of soup. But after hours in the sun, the soup was still cold.
Vandenburg said that he made modifications to the direction of the sun hitting the jar of chicken noodle soup and hoped that raising the soup on a music stand and placing the mirrors behind it would allow the sun to cook the soup from two directions.
Another student who learned from the trial and error process was David Kitchener who combined multiple oven variations until he found just the right combination. His ultimate oven model included a black inner tube to help push the hot air inward, plastic dome to hold the heat, and a blue metal plate.
“It cooked Spaghettios at home,” said Kitchener.
For seventh grade student Osmara Siordia, it was the amount of time it took to cook simple food that came as a surprise.
“I would have to be very patient to cook this way, and I’m not that patient,” said Siordia.
After spending about three days building her oven, Siordia was surprised to find that the oven actually burnt her hot dog after she left it in there for three hours.
“I cooked a hot dog at home and it got burnt. It was kind of weird,” said Siordia. But with a full day of school dedicated to solar oven cooking, Siordia was ready to try something a bit more challenging: a frozen burrito.
Throughout the day, the students enjoyed volleyball and hanging out as other classes came to visit. Herrera said that the fun-filled day would not have been possible without the help and support of other Arcohe teachers, especially Mrs. Garvey, who also spent the day sampling hot dogs and frozen pizza.
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