Published in the February 17 – March 1, 2016 issue of Morgan Hill Life
By Staff Report
Photo courtesy Mt. Madonna School
Students at Mt. Madonna School work on their solar ovens.
In their curriculum transition from space exploration to Earth sciences, sixth grade students at Mount Madonna School harnessed the power of the sun early this month to cook delectable treats with their own solar ovens. The Solar Oven Engineering Project was an opportunity for these middle school students to learn about “appropriate technology” and to apply engineering practices to design and build solar ovens.
The learning began as students worked in teams to take on the engineering challenge.
Each team was given a petri dish, a digital thermocouple and a heat lamp, along with assorted items, including foil, cotton, black paper and cardboard.
The students were asked to create a setup that would raise the temperature inside of their petri dish as fast as possible, while maintaining the heat lamp at a safe distance.
After the first test run, students had a chance to revise their designs based on their observations of what did and didn’t work. As the project progressed, students dedicated time to solar oven building, testing and revising. The students were not given any hints or instructions for the design, and they were not allowed to ask Google. No two oven designs looked alike.
“By leaving it open-ended, it is a process of discovery. The design emerges from the student’s own imagination and from what they learned during the engineering challenge,” said middle school science teacher Katrina Leni-Konig. “In many parts of the world wood stoves are traditionally used to cook meals every day, polluting the air and impacting the health of the people that use them,” added Leni-Konig. “Wood is harvested in local areas, leading to deforestation. Solar ovens were introduced as an appropriate technology to replace wood stoves. Students were provided context to their project by making a connection with their sister school in Jos, Nigeria, where students began a small business making solar ovens to sell locally.”
Students monitored the temperatures of their ovens, and made adjustments in preparation of their Solar Cookout. On the day of the cookout, students brought in various treats — including browning, s’mores and quesadillas — to prepare and share with the class.
“I was really excited when the temperature of our oven went over 100 degrees,” said student Summer Howley
