Chip Can Eclipse Viewer

Materials you’ll need

• Pringles can

• Scissors

• White paper
• Pencil
• Pushpin
• Tape

Step-by-step tutorial

Step 1: Trace the top of a Pringles can onto the paper.

Step 2: Cut out the circle and press it into the lid.

Step 3: Cut a little door in the top of the can.

Step 4: Put the lid back on and tape it in place.

Step 5: Use the pushpin to poke a hole in the other end of the tube.

Step 6: Look down at the paper circle and point the pushpin hole at the Sun. You’ll see a projection of the Sun on the paper!

Grownup guide

Most of the Sun’s light is blocked except for the rays going at the perfect angle to go through the pinhole. Those rays hit the paper in the lid and create a projection of the Sun that’s safe to look at. We used a studio light to create our fake eclipse so we could see the same crescent shape you can see during a real eclipse.