Save the Pizza Party with a Solar Pizza Box Oven!

It’s the day of your classroom’s most anticipated event—the pizza party! The room is ready, the plates are stacked, and excitement is in the air. But disaster strikes: there are no microwaves or ovens available, and the pizzas are ice cold. What can you do? Harness the power of the sun to save the day!

With this set of solar pizza box oven project guides, your students will launch a fun and hands-on STEM adventure to reheat their pizzas using nothing but solar energy. This activity is perfect for combining engineering, science, and a whole lot of creative problem-solving. This pizza box oven project guides students through a series of tasks and activities to help them complete three missions:

• Work in teams to create a solar oven that traps sunlight and transforms it into enough heat to reheat a pizza and melt the cheese again.
• Use problem-solving skills and experiment with materials to make a pizza box oven as effective as possible.
• Determine if the size and shape of a solar oven changes its effectiveness.

What’s Included In This Solar Oven STEM Project?

This resource has everything you need to guide your students step-by-step through the process of building a solar-powered pizza box oven. Here’s what’s inside:

• Pizza Box Oven Project Scenario and Challenge Guidelines
• Solar Oven STEM Project Purpose and Materials List
• Instructions for Building a Pizza Box Solar Oven
• Instructions for Building a Solar Shoebox Oven (for comparative purposes)
• Planning and Data Recording Sheets for the Solar Oven Project
• Science Data worksheet for kids
• Pizza Box Pizza Oven Project Reflection Sheet

You don’t have to limit this project to pizza! Turn the project into a Solar Oven for S’mores! Students will use the engineering process to build a solar oven to observe thermal energy transfer through conduction, convection, and radiation. Each group will choose one variable to change in their solar ovens, and it will act as the independent variable. The rest will remain unchanged and act as the control. In the end, they will compare their data with that of a control oven.

Download Your Solar Oven Science Project PDF

This printable pack makes it easy to turn an ordinary concept into an extraordinary learning experience. It:

• Engages students with a real-world problem-solving scenario.
• Inspires teamwork as students cooperate to build their solar ovens.
• Encourages curiosity about renewable energy and STEM principles.
• Adds excitement to your classroom science lessons!

Click the dropdown arrow to download the Solar Oven Science Project PDF or editable Google Slides resource file. Download this resource today and watch your students light up as they take on the challenge of saving the pizza party with solar power! 🌞🍕

This resource was created by Lindsey Phillips, a teacher in Michigan and Teach Starter Collaborator.

More Light Energy Resources to Go With Your Pizza Box Oven Project

You’ve found the project, but what if you need the materials to prepare your students to participate? We’ve got you covered with these printable solar energy worksheets, games, and more!

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Looking at Light Energy - Teaching Slides

Teach the wonders of light energy with an engaging slide deck covering light energy for kids!

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Refracting Light Task Cards

A set of 5 Task Cards with activities that allow students to observe the refraction of light.

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Reflection, Refraction, and Absorption Worksheet

Ensure students understand light energy by applying their knowledge to questions about reflection, refraction and absorption.