How to Make a Box Pinhole Projector
Summary: Learn to make a simple box pinhole projector for safe solar viewing with Parker. This DIY craft uses basic household items like a cardboard box, aluminum foil, and paper to project the sun's image, perfect for observing solar eclipses safely. Always remember to never look directly at the sun.
This video, hosted by a young girl named Parker, provides a step-by-step guide on how to create a homemade box pinhole projector. It details the necessary materials, including a cardboard box (cereal or shoe box), scissors, aluminum foil, a pencil, a push pin, tape, and white paper. Parker demonstrates how to trace and cut paper for the screen, create two viewing holes, cover one with foil, and make a pinhole. The video also includes crucial safety information, emphasizing that one should never look directly at the sun without proper solar filters. Finally, it shows how to properly use the projector by standing with your back to the sun and looking into the designated hole to see the projected image of the sun, making it ideal for safely observing phenomena like solar eclipses.
Playback guide
1. time: 0:00 description: Introduction by Parker, a young girl, who will teach how to make a box pinhole projector. 2. time: 0:09 description: Materials needed: Cardboard box (cereal or shoe box), scissors, aluminum foil, pencil, push pin, tape, and white paper. 3. time: 0:27 description: Step 1: Trace one end of the cardboard box onto the white paper. 4. time: 0:35 description: Step 2: Use scissors to cut out the traced paper shape. 5. time: 0:38 description: Step 3: Place the cut paper inside the box on the same end it was traced from, forming a screen. 6. time: 0:43 description: Step 4: Cut two square holes on the opposite end of the box (one on the left, one on the right). 7. time: 0:53 description: Step 5: If using a cereal box, tape up the middle to keep it together. 8. time: 0:59 description: Step 6: Cover one of the two square holes with aluminum foil and secure it with tape. 9. time: 1:09 description: Step 7: Use a push pin to make a very small hole in the center of the aluminum foil. 10. time: 1:19 description: The finished box pinhole projector is shown. 11. time: 1:20 description: Important safety warning: Never look directly at the sun without safe solar filters. 12. time: 1:29 description: Instructions on how to use the box pinhole projector: Stand with your back to the sun and look into the large square hole. 13. time: 1:42 description: Animation demonstrating how the pinhole projects the sun's image onto the internal screen. 14. time: 1:47 description: Various methods of safe solar viewing, including projection and certified eclipse glasses. 15. time: 1:56 description: Parker says goodbye, followed by NASA and Heliophysics Big Year logos.