How to make a pinhole camera with a flashlight

You need: cereal box, tissue paper (or onionskin), tinfoil, black crayon, cellophane, flashlight

Step 1: Cut an opening about 3 inches square out of the bottom of a round cereal box.

Step 2: Paste very thin paper over this hole.

Step 3: Cut another square hole, about the size of a small postage stamp, in the center of the top of the box.

Step 4: Cover this new square hole with tinfoil.

Step 5: In the center of the tinfoil make a small hole with a pin.

Step 6: Cut out a paper doll and crayon it black.

Step 7: Tape the doll with cellophane tape to the glass of a flashlight.

Step 8: Hold the box about 2 feet away from the lighted lamp (preferably in a darkened room). Point the pinhole at the lamp and look at the tissue paper.


What you will see: An image of the doll is thrown on the tissue paper-upside down.

Why: The rays of light travel in straight lines from the lamp to the image, as shown in the illustration. This is what happens in our eye. The image forms upside down on the retina.

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