Use a magnifying glass to roast marshmallows.
Marshmallows are usually roasted at night over a campfire, but if your schedule or location does not allow for a weekend in the wild, you may have to resort to using the sun's rays and a magnifying glass to cook a marshmallow. The glass focuses the sun's rays on a single point, providing enough heat to give a marshmallow a crisp exterior and a gooey interior. This is a good way to heat up your marshmallow without leaving behind any messy ashes or coals.
Instructions
1. Hold a magnifying glass over the ground until the sun's rays are focused into a 1/2-inch circle. Measure the height of the glass with a ruler. You do not want the beams to be all focused on a single point, since that will burn the marshmallow.
2. Poke a skewer through a cardboard box at a distance that is equal to the height you measured for a 1/2-inch circle of sunbeams. The size of the box will depend on the focal distance of the magnifying glass. Do not poke the skewer through the opposite side yet.
3. Cut a circle in the top of the cardboard box the same size as the magnifying glass and place the glass over this circle. Tape the handle to the box to hold it in place.
4. Poke the skewer through the middle of a marshmallow, then put the skewer through the opposite side of the box. It should rotate freely, and the marshmallow should be located directly under the magnifying glass. Cut out one of the sides of the box that the skewer is not mounted through to watch the sun's rays at work.
5. Find a sunny area and slowly turn the marshmallow. The cooking time will depend on the strength of the sunlight, but keep an eye on it through the observation hole you cut in the side of the cardboard box.
6. Pull the skewer back through one end of the the box, grab the marshmallow with a pair of graham crackers and slide it off the end of the skewer.
Tags: magnifying glass, skewer through, 2-inch circle, glass over, opposite side, Poke skewer through, single point