How to Build a Water Microscope
By: Lisa Glover
Work with your child to build this water microscope from The Highlights Book of Things to Do. Together, discuss how looking at the objects under a microscope is different from looking with the naked eye.
You don’t need a big contraption to view objects under a microscope. You can make a simple microscope at home.
What You'll Need
What to Do
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Carefully cut the cover off the googly eye. Take it apart. Have an adult help with anything sharp.
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Trace the plastic eye cover onto the bottom of the cup. Then draw an upside-down U on each side of the cup. Cut along all the lines you’ve made, so the cup has a hole in the bottom and two open sides.
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Cut four thin, small pieces of tape. Tape just the edges of the eye cover to the inside of the cup so the curve goes inside.
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Spoon a little water into the eye cover so it forms a pool. Now you can put small objects under it and see them magnified. You may have to move the cup a bit to get the right spot.
Why It Works:
The pool of water on the googly eye creates a convex lens. Convex lenses are thicker in the middle and thinner around the edges. They bend the light passing through them, making the object underneath appear larger.
