Introduction to Solar Cooking

Service Description

Wendy visited our year 3/4 and 4/5 classes to demonstrate the natures of wonder using her solar ovens. She demonstrated four different types. The students were amazed at how this technology worked and enjoyed eating the food they cooked. Wendy was well organised and a pleasure to deal with. I highly recommend to other primary schools.  Megan Saffioti, Assistant Principal, Karuah Public School, Dec 11 2018. Wendy Wales and Tony Lonergan from ‘WONSO Wonders of Nature Solar Ovens’ recently dropped in to Gloucester High School to demonstrate a range of solar powered cooking equipment. Students were introduced to concepts and applications of double glazing, reflection and insulation used in the manufacture of box ovens; focussing of light using a parabola and the greenhouse effect of a casserole at the parabola’s focal point; and that light can pass through a vacuum in heat pipes and the energy be trapped as heat on the inside. Scientific principles such as these can be used to cook our food using only solar energy. Students were interested to learn that on a sunny day the ovens get to 180°C, the parabola gets the water boiling within minutes and the heat pipe works so effectively it will burn food. While the discussions generally focused on the free running costs, the pollution free effect of mirrors and insulation and the fact that you can cook in summer without heating up the kitchen, the lucky last set of students got to enjoy the “truth in the pudding” when the chocolate cake in the box oven was declared cooked, cut and shared. Wendy and Tony commented on how friendly, helpful and interested staff and students at Gloucester High School were to them and their demonstration.