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Make a Pinhole Camera ActivityMake a Pinhole Camera Activity
Publisher
International Technology Education Association
Resource Details
Curator Rating
Educator Rating
Not yet Rated
Grade
7th - 12th
Subjects
Science
5 more...
Resource Type
Activities & Projects
Audience
For Teacher Use
Duration
3 hrs
Instructional Strategy
Hands-on Activity
Year
2009
Activity

Make a Pinhole Camera

Curated and Reviewed by Lesson Planet

With a little light and a lot of time, you can create some amazing images. This NASA-related task instructs pupils to build a pinhole camera. The lesson provides suggestions for different pictures to try with the pinhole camera and concludes with a set of discussion questions.

25 Views 16 Downloads

Concepts

light, electromagnetic waves

Additional Tags

science

Instructional Ideas

  • After building the pinhole camera, have the class research the way light behaves as it interacts with the pinhole and the file
  • Instruct leaners to research the history of both film and digital imaging 

Classroom Considerations

  • There is a safety concern while using the knife to cut the cardboard
  • If multiple cameras are going to be built, you will need several cereal boxes

Pros

  • An actual-size template is provided as a pattern to cut from the cereal box

Cons

  • The activity is not directly tied to a learning objective or a design project
  • Building a pinhole camera takes a long time to get it right

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