Solar Challenge: Solar Thermal Collectors

Build a solar collector to heat water with energy from the sun

Students go to "engineering school" and learn about collector design and parabolas through hands-on experiments. Student teams design and build solar collectors and “compete” for prizes in several categories.

What's in the kit

• Kit includes: Reflective mylar, thermometers, mirrors, utility knives, mini-collector patterns, conduction and convection experiment & demonstration materials and more. Click here for the full Solar Challenge kit inventory.
• Kit size: 2 large plastic totes, 1 roll mylar, 1 tube straight edges

NGSS Standards Addressed

MS-PS3-3 Energy: Apply scientific principles to design, construct and test a device that either minimizes or maximizes thermal energy transfer.