{"id":112036,"date":"2020-04-03T14:44:59","date_gmt":"2020-04-03T19:44:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.artofmanliness.com\/?p=112036"},"modified":"2021-09-25T08:00:52","modified_gmt":"2021-09-25T13:00:52","slug":"diy-mirror-periscope","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/skills\/diy-mirror-periscope\/","title":{"rendered":"Kid Craft of the Week: Mirror Periscope"},"content":{"rendered":"

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While much of the world is in quarantine of some form, and often sequestered with children who are itching for something to do, we thought it would be fun to offer a weekly craft\/project idea you can work on together to help while away the time. If you make the craft, we’d love to see it; share on social media with the hashtag #aomkidcraft. <\/em><\/p>\n

When I think of periscopes, the first thing that comes to mind is a submarine, cruising through dark waters, scanning the horizon for enemy ships. But as it turns out, periscopes have a much more varied history than I imagined. They’re used in tanks and armored vehicles, and were employed by soldiers in WWI both to see out of their trenches in general, and as rifle scopes that enabled them to target the enemy while remaining under cover. <\/p>\n

Periscopes are simple devices that rely on either mirrors or prisms. Periscopes that use mirrors reflect light between two 45-degree mirrors while prism periscopes use the principles of refraction to bring an image to the viewer\u2019s eye. <\/p>\n

You can make a mirror periscope out of a material like cardboard, but the wooden variety is sturdier and feels and looks cooler. It’s a pretty easy weekend project for a kid to complete (with some help from Dad, of course), and all you need is some plywood, a couple mirrors, and a handful of other items, like glue and tape. Many wooden periscope instructions call for a specific size mirror, but in my experience, it\u2019s not easy to find specific mirror sizes, and not all hardware stores will cut them to size for you. With that in mind, this tutorial is going to help you make a periscope that will fit whatever small, rectangular mirror you can get your hands on. Though, I\u2019d recommend getting something that\u2019s at least 2 x 2 inches and not bigger than 5 x 5 inches. Likewise, I\u2019m using 3\/4-inch plywood, but you can use 1\/2-inch or something thicker if it\u2019s all you have on hand. <\/p>\n

Finally, while the list of materials I include here is very barebones, it can get the job done. But if you have things like a table saw, miter saw, and a pneumatic nail gun that shoots finish nails, the process is much easier.<\/p>\n

How to Make a Mirror Periscope<\/span><\/h3>\n

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Materials and Tools<\/strong><\/p>\n