Hotdogs in the Sun!

On Monday’s I have the privilege of volunteering in my son’s Kindergarten class.  I usually help with reading groups, which I love, but today was a little different.  In science the class is learning about the sun.  Their main focus being that it gives off heat and light.  Today, while I was there, the class had the opportunity to start an experiment!  This is one I haven’t seen before and I really got a kick out of it.  I’m not sure if the fact that we are so much closer to the sun makes it more possible to conduct this experiment or not, you’ll have to try it to find out!  You will definitely need a sunny day!  So here’s the scoop:

HOTDOGS IN THE SUN, YOU’LL NEED:

One hotdog

One Pringles can

One metal skewer

(MAYBE)A thin piece of plastic (if you had a box that had a new toy in it that little piece of plastic that you can look through would be perfect  or even old laminator film :))

Directions:  I think the picture probably speaks for itself, but the can was used as a reflector so that all sides of the dog were “grilled”.  You will need to cut out a “window” on the side of the can for the sun to peak in and do it’s magic, this is also where the plastic was placed.  I’m not sure you “need” the plastic, but it’s there so I’ll tell you about it.  The sharp end of the skewer is then poked through the bottom end of the can and then the hotdog is placed inside the tube on the skewer.  The top is then placed on the can and the skewer is poked through the top.  It’s like your own ballpark cooker!  The class set their dog in the sun from 9-2 today and guess what???????  IT WORKED!  The hotdog was cooked, warm to the touch, and even smelled of grilled, well hotdog :).  Of course I DO NOT recommend eating anything that has been outside all day, but it’s a fun experiment none the less.  And what did we learn you ask?  We learned that you need heat to cook things and the sun has heat so it was able to cook the hotdog!  It was a great way for them to understand heat!  When we got home we even talked about “sunburn”!  The hotdog helped to explain that a little better!  Maybe tomorrow we’ll do a sunscreen experiment!

Tags: experiments with the sun, ideas for the sun, kindergarten science experiments, learning about the sun, preschool science experiments, science experiments for children, sun crafts, sun science unit, teaching about the sun