4-08-2024 4:50am

HOW TO WATCH

Jeff Barto Editor

How To Use a Shoebox To Make a Solar Eclipse Viewer

By Sheniece Chappell
Photographs by Michael Roytek

SAFETY FIRST: Ask an adult to help with tools you haven't used before.

Looking directly at the sun can injure your eyes, but if you want to watch the eclipse, you can safely view it indirectly with this shoebox solar viewer.

Don’t have a shoebox on hand? Make this cereal box eclipse viewer instead!

This type of viewer is also known as a pinhole projection because the image of the eclipse is projected through the pinhole onto the viewing surface. You will be looking at a projection of the eclipse instead of looking directly at the sun.

WHAT YOU’LL NEED TO MAKE A SOLAR ECLIPSE VIEWER

Small box with a lid (A shoebox is perfect.)
Small piece of aluminum foil
Small sheet of white paper
Utility knife or hobby knife
Tape
Needle or sharpened pencil

JOIN US APRIL 8 FOR ECLIPSE LIVE!

Join us at noon Central time April 8 for an eclipse party! We’ll have solar eclipse-themed crafts, special guests and astronomical fun as we watch this historic event sweep the nation.

Watch the show on the Scout Life Facebook page and YouTube channel.

WHAT YOU’LL DO TO MAKE A SOLAR ECLIPSE VIEWER

Step 1: Cut a 1-inch square hole in the lower right corner of your shoebox.

Step 2: Tape the foil over the square.

Step 3: Poke a pinhole in the center of the foil. The pinhole is where the sun will shine through.

Step 4: Tape a small piece of white paper inside of the box directly across from the foil-covered square. This is the projection screen where the image will appear.

Step 5: On the same side as the foil-covered square, cut another 1-inch square in the opposite corner. This is the viewing hole. You will be able to see the white paper through this hole.

Step 6: With the lid closed, stand with your back to the sun and look through the viewing hole. Focus the sunlight through the pinhole and onto the white paper.

Step 7: Personalize your solar eclipse viewer using wrapping paper, markers, paint and more before using it.

SAFETY FIRST: DO NOT LOOK DIRECTLY AT THE SUN

Looking directly at the sun is like using a magnifying glass to burn a piece of paper. The sunlight is focused onto the back of your eye. The film in the back of your eye is called the retina, and it can easily be damaged without your knowledge. The retina of your eye does not have pain receptors, so you won’t even feel the damage being done. You might not know that you have damaged your vision until much later.

PHOTOS OF COMPLETED PROJECT

Check out these photos of the completed project sent to us by Scout Life readers. If you have a photos of a SL Workshop project, please use the form below to send them to us.