DIY Solar Eclipse Pinhole Projector

Hi everyone! As you probably already know, a solar eclipse will be visible in North America tomorrow! To prepare for this exciting event, I’ve created a pinhole projector from a repurposed cardboard box. Obviously, it’s very important not to look directly at the sun with the naked eye—and since authentic solar viewers are difficult to obtain at this time, viewing the eclipse indirectly with a pinhole projector is an easy and safe alternative. I had so much fun with this DIY and hope you do, too!

Materials

• Cardboard box (mine was about 8″ tall with flaps up, 13.5″ wide and 9.75″ deep)
• Cardstock paper (preferably a dark color, to avoid glare)
• Push pin
• Tape
• Binder clips

Steps

Create the viewing window by cutting off one of the longer sides of the box together with the flap. Tape the remaining 3 flaps up to create the walls of the projector.

Cut a large rectangle out of the flap of the now loose side of the box to create a frame with a 1-2″ border on three sides. Tape the frame to the top of the box so that it opens in the direction of the viewing window.

Cut the remaining rectangular cutout in half and fold each piece in half. Tape these pieces to each side of the box so that they complete the rest of the frame. (The frame will be used to support the sheet of cardstock paper with the pinhole pattern.)

Make pinholes in a sheet of cardstock paper with a push pin (you can widen them with a toothpick if needed). To make the letters as accurately as possible, I printed out a template on a sheet of 8.5″ by 11″ printing paper using the Codystar font as a guide.

Lay the sheet of cardstock paper with the pinhole pattern over the frame at the top of the projector and secure the bottom corners to the frame with binder clips. Slip a dark-colored sheet of paper onto the bottom of the projector to serve as a screen. Angle the pinhole pattern toward the sun so that the sunlight streams through the pinholes onto the screen below. Enjoy!

I know some of the directions might be a bit vague, but hopefully the photos help. Let me know how it goes!

P.S. Each spot of light should show an image of the sun. The above photos were taken of the uneclipsed sun; therefore, each spot of light is a circle. During the eclipse, the projector should display a pattern of crescent-shaped dots while the sun is partially blocked.