An Easy Homemade Eclipse Viewer

Solar Eclipse 2017. It’s a once in a lifetime experience. Well, maybe if you’re in the path of totality, which, we aren’t. Here in Houston, we’re looking at maybe 60-70% of the sun being blocked. But, once in a lifetime or not, hi, I’m a homeschool mom. I still think it is a great learning opportunity! So, assuming the clouds move out of the way in time, we will be watching.

We were given 2 pairs of Eclipse Glasses. But, I’m still hesitant to encourage my children to look directly at the sun.

Protecting my little ones’ vision is very high on my list of priorities today. Protecting your vision should be too. But, I keep reading comments on Facebook from adults wondering how much harm it would really do to “just take a little peek.”

DON’T DO IT. Just don’t. Okay? Permanently damaging your vision, or your child’s vision is so not worth it. (Check out this article.)

There are plenty of tutorials out there on how to make a projection viewer. And, I’m going to give you another one… It’s quick, it’s super simple, easy to make at the very last minute, and unlike the ones made with Pringles cans, paper towel rolls, cereal boxes and aluminum foil, you probably have enough of everything on hand to make one for every member of your family.

Here’s what you need:

Index cards, and a hole punch. That’s it.

You will need 2 index cards for each viewer.

Punch a hole in one.

That’s it. Done.

Then, when you observe the eclipse, hold the card with the hole above, and slightly off to the side, of the other card, so the sun can shine through the hole. We’ve found it works best if you lay the card without the hole on the ground. The eclipse will be projected on the bottom card. And you, and your children, can safely observe this solar eclipse!