Solar barbecue

Follow these instructions to make your own solar barbecue and witness the awesome power of the sun.

• 28 July 2006 | Updated 14 October 2011

• What you need
• What to do
• What's happening

On SCOPE's Outback Science episode, Mac made a barbecue using the power of the sun. Here's what he did.

CAUTION : Don't eat the meat as it may not be properly cooked. You should not eat something that has been sitting in the sun all day. This activity also involves cutting a can; always wear gloves when dealing with sharp metal edges.

What you need

To do this activity you will need:

• a pair of gloves to protect your hands
• tin snips
• sticky tape
• an aluminium can
• aluminium foil
• a nail or hole punch
• a hammer
• some wooden or metal skewers
• scissors
• chipolatas or mushrooms.

What to do

1. Cut the empty aluminium can in half lengthways. Get an adult to help with this one. Make sure they have their gloves on and be very careful; the edges of the can are really sharp.
2. Cover all the sharp edges with sticky tape. This is the base of your barbecue.
3. Line the inside of the can with aluminium foil.
4. Pierce a hole at each end of the can to put your skewer through. To do this, you can either use a hole punch or a hammer and a nail. Either way make sure you get an adult to help you. Place the hole not too far from the top edge.
5. On the menu for today is the chipolata – or mini sausage. Thread the skewer through the centre of the chipolata and then place into the mini solar barbecue. (Use mushrooms if you prefer.)
6. Place the barbecue outside in full sun and get cooking.

What's happening

The sun radiates light energy. The solar cooker converts the light into heat energy. It also soaks up some of sun's heat, making it hot.

These solar sausage sizzlers use the shape of the reflective dish to concentrate the sun's energy onto the skewer.

This is not the fastest way to cook your snag, but if you wait, and give it the occasional turn, and wait some more, it will cook your chipolata just the way you like it. But, if you are having your mates over for lunch, you might want to get a real barbeque going.

You shouldn't eat something that's been sitting in the sun all day. But this does show that solar energy can cook!

This activity is brought to you by SCOPE: Science TV for Kids and CSIRO's Double Helix Science Club.