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How to Make a Small Homemade Telescope

Making a small homemade telescope is a relatively simple task that has fun and educational benefits. You can use small telescopes for many enjoyable tasks such as star-gazing and bird watching. A telescope uses two lenses to magnify distant objects, making them appear closer and allowing you to see finer detail at a distance.

Things You'll Need

  • 2 wrapping paper tubes
  • Scissors
  • Black paint
  • Black construction paper
  • Tape
  • Small convex lens
  • Large convex lens
  • Corrugated cardboard
  • Hot glue
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Instructions

    • 1

      Cut both of the wrapping paper tubes to 1 foot in length. One wrapping paper tube should be slightly smaller in diameter and able to fit inside the larger one.

    • 2

      Paint the inside of your wrapping paper tubes black. If you have trouble painting the inside of your tube, pour the paint down the inside of the tube and allow it to run down the sides. Wait for the paint to dry completely.

    • 3

      Cover the outside of your tubes with black construction paper and securely tape in place. This will prevent extra light from entering the tubes.

    • 4

      Use your hot glue gun to affix the small convex lens to the end of one tube. If the lens is too small, cut a ring shape out of the corrugated cardboard. Glue the convex lens to the center hole in the ring and then glue the entire ring in the end of the tube. Wait for your hot glue to dry.

    • 5

      Glue your large convex lens to the opposite end of the second tube.

    • 6

      Insert your small tube into the larger tube with the lenses at opposite ends and the overlapping tube segments in the center.

    • 7

      Look through the tube, positioning your eye directly in front of the small lens. Aim the telescope at an object roughly 20 meters away.

    • 8

      Focus the homemade telescope by adjusting the distance that the tubes overlap.


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