Description: A hand-held constellation viewer that allows children to see a constellation of their choice, as it would appear in the night sky.
Materials-Needed: 1 black film canister with gray lid per child; 1 push-pin per child; 1 pair of safety scissors per child; 1 constellation template (of their choice) per child (the templates will be provided at the end of this document); transparent tape for all children; permanent markers for children to write their initials with.
Construction: Take the constellation template and cut out the circle and the name of the constellation with the safety scissors. Set the circle and the name aside. Throw away the scraps. Tape the circle with the constellation on it to the bottom of the canister with the transparent tape. With the push-pin, poke a hole through each black dot (star) on the circle with the constellation on it. Remove the circle with the constellation on it from the bottom of the film canister. Throw this away. Tape the name of the constellation (which you set aside earlier) to the side of the film canister. On the gray lid, write your initials with the permanent marker. You now have a pinhole planetarium!
Use it: With the lid off, put the opening of the pinhole planetarium to your eye. Point the pinhole planetarium toward a light source. You will see the stars of the constellation you chose! You can also point the pinhole planetarium toward a light source, and then look through the opening while holding it at arm's length. The stars will look more focused and realistic this way.
CONSTELLATION TEMPLATE BELOW
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