Simple Projection Art Box
Source: Stemoto Original
Turn your bedroom into a movie theater! Build a mini projector out of a cardboard tube, a flashlight, and plastic wrap to cast giant, glowing silhouettes onto your wall.
Categorisation
Props & Materials Required
- •A cardboard tube (toilet paper or paper towel roll)
- •Clear plastic wrap or clear packing tape
- •A strong LED flashlight or a smartphone flashlight
- •Rubber bands
- •Black permanent markers or black construction paper
Step-by-Step Instructions
Prep the Lens
Stretch a small piece of clear plastic wrap tightly over one end of your cardboard tube. Secure it in place with a rubber band so it looks like a drum. This is your 'lens'.
Draw the Slide
Use a thick black permanent marker to draw a silhouette right onto the plastic wrap lens (like a bat, a star, or a smiley face). The lines need to be dark so light can't shine through them!
Build the Projector
Turn on your flashlight and point it straight into the open end of the cardboard tube.
Focus the Image
Turn off the room lights and point your projector tube at a blank wall. Move the flashlight closer and further away from the plastic wrap lens until the image on the wall is sharp and in focus.
Project and Play
Make multiple 'lenses' using different cardboard tubes to project a whole story on your bedroom wall!
Why It Works & Notes
This is a study in optics and light divergence. Because light travels in straight lines, placing a small shape close to a light source causes the light rays to spread out past the shape, casting a massive, magnified shadow on a distant wall.
Very safe project. It works best in a completely pitch-black room. AI Optional: Have your child prompt an AI image generator for 'simple black and white stencil art' to find cool shapes to trace onto their projector lenses!