How to Make a DIY Telescope
By: Highlights Editorial
Do you have an empty paper-towel roll? Then you're well on your way to making a fun DIY telescope with your kids!
When you learn how to make a telescope, with your child, you’ll enjoy watching birds, planes and other flying objects. It’s an easy craft that can change your kids’ perspective and help them notice the world around them in a different way.
What You'll Need
What to Do
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Roll a piece of cardstock over a cardboard tube. Add some rubber bands.
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Decorate your telescope with stickers and markers.
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Pull the tube to make your telescope longer.
Younger children: Telescopes are great for watching birds. Go outside or look out a big window. Then ask your child where they think they’ll see birds. In a tree? In the sky? On the sidewalk? On the grass? Encourage them to find birds with their new telescope and describe them to you.
Older children: Encourage your child to go outside with the telescope around dusk. They can look across the sky to find stars, airplanes, satellites—maybe even a shooting star. Use an app or a book to look up constellations together and see if they can find some of them.
For more crafts like this DIY Telescope, check out The Highlights Book of Things to Do. You may never hear “I’m bored” again!
