The solar eclipse on April 8, 2024 is a rare spectacle, whether you’re in the path of totality or you’ll be observing a partial eclipse. In order to observe the eclipse without instantly (and permanently) damaging your eyes, you need to either wear approved solar eclipse glasses or look at the sun indirectly. Regular sunglasses will not protect your eyes.
One way to look at the sun indirectly is through a pinhole viewer. You can make one on the fly if you have two pieces of cardstock. Put one on the ground and poke a pinhole through the other one. Hold the one with the pinhole in it, with the sun to your back or above you, and look at the cardstock on the ground. If it’s positioned correctly, you should see the circle of the sun on it, and, during an eclipse, you can see the changes.
But it’s really easy (and way more fun) to make a pinhole viewer from a cereal box. Kids can help to make it, and will love using it during the eclipse. It’s also very inexpensive to make. If you eat cereal, you already have the main material (after you eat the cereal!)
Materials for DIY Solar Eclipse Pinhole Viewer
- Empty cereal box (with the bag removed too)
- Piece of white card stock. White, unlined paper will also work.
- Scissors
- Tape
- Aluminum foil
- Pencil
- Something to poke a hole through foil (a pin of any kind.) We just used the point of a mechanical pencil.
Process to make a DIY Pinhole Viewer for a Solar Eclipse
1. Trace the bottom of the cereal box onto the card stock.
2. Cut out the strip of card stock that you traced
3. Roll up tape and put it in several spots on the bottom of the cardstock, and then stick it to the inside bottom of the cereal box.
4. Close the top of the cereal box and tape it shut.
5. Cut two squares from the top of the cereal box, one on each end.
6. Cut out a square of aluminum foil bigger than one of the openings, and tape it over one of the openings, folding it over the edges.
7. Poke a pinhole in the middle of the foil.
8. That’s it! Now you’re ready to use your new solar eclipse pinhole viewer!
Using the pinhole viewer
You don’t have to wait for the solar eclipse to try it out. On any sunny day, take it outside. Stand with the sun behind or above you. Look in the opening. Hold the pinhole viewer in front of you and adjust until an see the circle of the sun on the card stock on the bottom of the box.
That’s it! When there’s an eclipse you’ll see the changes in the appearance of the sun. You should see the moon moving in front of the sun. The shape of the sun will gradually change from a circle to a crescent, and if you’re in the path of totality, you eventually won’t see the sun at all in your viewer.
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