Make a Pizza Box Solar Oven!

This solar oven has been adapted from many designs.  Please feel free to improvise! 

The pizza box solar oven can reach temperatures of 275 degrees, hot enough to cook food and to kill germs in water. A general rule for cooking in a solar oven is to get the food in early and don't worry about overcooking. Expect the cooking time to take about twice as long as conventional methods, and allow about one half hour
to preheat.

What You'll Need

Recycled pizza box

Black construction paper

Aluminum foil

Clear plastic (heavy plastic works best)

Non-toxic glue, tape, scissors, ruler, magic marker

Wooden dowel or straw

How to Make Your Pizza Box Oven

Draw a 2.5cm border on all four sides of the top of the pizza box. Cut along three sides

leaving the line along the back of the box uncut. (Diagram #1)

Form a flap by gently folding back along the uncut line to form a crease. (Diagram #2) Cut a piece of aluminium foil to fit on the inside of the flap. Smooth out any wrinkles and glue into place. Measure a piece of plastic to fit over the opening you created by forming the flap in your pizza box. The plastic should be cut larger than the opening so that it can be taped to the underside of the flap. Be sure the plastic becomes a tightly sealed window so that the air cannot escape from the oven interior. 

Cut another piece of aluminium foil to line the bottom of the pizza box and carefully glue into place. Cover the aluminium foil with a piece of black construction paper and tape into place. (Diagram #3)

Close the pizza box top (window), and prop open the flap of the box with a wooden dowel, straw, or other device and face towards the sun. (Diagram #4) Adjust until the aluminium reflects the maximum sunlight through the window into the oven interior.

Your oven is ready! You can try heating pizzas, or hot dogs, or even try baking cookies or biscuits. Test how hot your oven can get using a simple oven thermometer!