I received product/compensation in exchange for sharing this information.
Unless you live under a rock you have probably heard that this upcoming Monday (August 21, 2017) there will be a solar eclipse beginning at noon EDT. All of North America will be able to view an eclipse of the sun – which means the moon will cover the sun and its atmosphere. Depending on where you are at eclipse time will vary on how much of an eclipse you will see but regardless where you are, it is still a pretty amazing thing to experience. The last time most Americans experienced a total solar eclipse was 1991 and then the next one will be in 2024.
Did you know that you cannot look directly into the solar eclipse without damaging your eyes?
The only safe way to look directly at the uneclipsed part of the sun is through special glasses. You should not even look at the sun through a camera, telescope or binoculars alone.
For those of us who have waited until the last minute to get glasses or maybe just don’t have money to pay for them for your whole family, did you know it is easy enough to make your own?
Make your own Solar Eclipse Viewer With Help From Fruity Pebbles…
So I will first say that I am not crafty at all, but I can follow directions. Well, thanks to Post Cereal and Fruity Pebbles I was able to create our own Solar Eclipse Viewer with stuff I already had around the house! This is a perfect activity for kids and parents to do together!
Materials needed:
- Fruity Pebbles cereal box (empty)
- Aluminum foil
- White paper (length of bottom of cereal box)
- Tape or glue
- Scissors
Directions:
Cut your white paper if you haven’t already to the length of the bottom of the cereal box.
Tape or glue the white paper to the inside of the bottom of the cereal box. This is what you will be viewing the solar eclipse on! It is hard to see, but the paper is on the bottom.
Cut the tip of the cereal box on both ends, leaving just the center. Tape this piece so it stays in place.
Tape your aluminum foil (double layer or single layer of heavy-duty) on the corner of one end.
Poke a hole in your aluminum foil – I used a pencil tip for this. The size is not a critical issue, but you don’t want it super large either.
How to use your Fruity Pebbles Solar Eclipse Viewer…
Turn your back to the sun and look through the open viewing side.
A small image of the sun will then be projected inside the box on the white paper you used!
Sue E says
I remember making something like this when my kids were little. But it wasn’t with a Fruity Pebbles box. I think we used a Cheerios box. I should have made one for each kid, so they didn’t grab it out of their siblings hands! I had to keep yelling at them not to look directly at the sun, even though they had sunglasses ? on. I don’t think the sunglasses back then were as protective as the ones nowadays. Thank you for sharing!
Esperanza Gailliard says
Too bad we didn’t use this the last eclipse. This looks awesome.
Dana Matthews says
We won’t see the full effect of the eclipse in our area but we are still excited to see how things will be. This is a fun idea and we need an additional pair of glasses….so I think we’ll do this craft!
Lana simanovicki says
This is amazing I’m doing this