Hello parents, teachers and students! Need a fun and safe way to view the total solar eclipse? Try making these cereal box pinhole projectors. They’re sure to wow you and your kiddos, even if you don’t have solar eclipse glasses. And even if you do, this is an engaging way to get our young students interested in the eclipse!
REMEMBER: It is NEVER safe to look directly at the sun... even with sunglasses. So, during a solar eclipse, you need to use proper eye protection at any point leading up to and after totality.
Recommended Videos
Be sure to check out GMSA@9 on Wednesdays when Meteorologist Sarah Spivey does the demonstrations and explains the science behind it.
HERE’S WHAT YOU’LL NEED
- A cereal box or a large snack box
- A pencil
- Piece of white paper
- Scissors
- Tape
- Aluminum foil
- A pushpin or thumbtack
DO THE ACTIVITY
- STEP 1: Using the paper and the pencil, trace the shape of the bottom of the cereal box
- STEP 2: Using adult supervision, cut out the piece of paper and tape it to the inside bottom of the cereal box. It should look like this
- STEP 3: On the top of the box, cut out two openings on each side and tape the middle section together. It should look like this:
- STEP 4: Place aluminum foil over one opening.
- STEP 5: Using the thumbtack, poke a small hole into the aluminum foil.
- STEP 6: Use your pinhole projector by going outside and placing your back to the sun. Look through the open side of the top and move the box around until the sun is focused into the pinhole and you can see the sun reflected onto the white paper at the bottom of the box. If it’s cloudy or you’re under a tree, you’ll see these things, too!
HOW IT WORKS
The pinhole focuses the sun’s strong light inside the cereal box. A perfect projection is made on the white paper in the background!
SCIENCE WITH SARAH
If you’d like Sarah and David to come to your school and conduct a science experiment live on KSAT, fill out this form. “Winners” are selected at random.
