Making Educational Toys-The Pinhole Projector

This pin hole projector demonstrates the principles of early photography and also the nature of light. To make these great educational toys all you need is an empty Pringles tin, some silver foil or wrapping paper, tape, a pair of scissors and a hammer and nail.
First you will need to cut about 5cm off the bottom of the Pringles tin and using the hammer and small nail, pierce a hole in the middle of the metal base at the bottom of the 5cm piece you cut off.
This hole will allow the light travelling in straight lines from whatever is being viewed into the pinhole projector.
Next, you need to place the plastic lid onto the top of the Pringles tube and tape the two pieces back together but this time with the plastic lid toward the opening of the 5 cm cut off piece of tube.
The plastic lid, now set within the tube 5cm away from the pin hole in the base, acts like a screen for the light projecting through the small hole in the metal base to produce an upside down image upon.
Next wrap some silver foil or wrapping paper around the tube to make it look neat and tidy and block out any light through any gaps.
Now point your new science toy with the pinhole towards a nice bright image like a tree on a sunny day and if you look through the open end you should see an upside down image projected onto the plastic lid.
Why do you think the image is projected upside down?
If light travels in straight lines, light from the bottom of an object would travel through the pinhole and end up toward the top of the screen whereas the light travelling from the top of an object would pass through the hole and end up at the bottom of the screen.
Playing with educational toys like Chemistry Sets and Electronic Labs help children understand scientific principles however making educational toys allows even more insight into the workings of the educational toy as well as being a lot of fun.