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Students will learn about planets, stars, galaxies, and the vastness of space.

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Learners will apply Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Mathematics (STEAM) principles to explore space themes.

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Students will work in teams to solve problems and create projects, developing their teamwork and creativity.

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Instructions for a simple homemade telescope. Materials: cardboard tubes, lenses.

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Telescopes make distant objects appear nearer, using a combination of lenses and mirrors. If you happen to have no telescopes or binoculars at home, and you can make one yourself! Take note that the images may appear upside down.

1. Gather all your materials. You'll need a piece of corrugated paper that is about 24 inches in length (this is a ridge material, easily available from paper stores or craft stores). You'll need two magnifying glasses that are NOT the same size. You will also need strong glue, scissors, and a pencil.

If the magnifying glasses are the same size, the telescope won't work.

2. Hold one magnifying glass (the bigger one) between you and the paper. The image of the print will look blurry. Place the second magnifying glass between your eye and the first magnifying glass.

3. Wrap the paper around one of the magnifying glasses. Mark the diameter on the paper with the pencil. Make sure that it is pulled tight.

4. Cut a second slot in the tube the same distance from the first slot as was written down between the two glasses. This is where the second magnifying glass will go.

You should now have two lengths of corrugated paper. One piece should be slightly larger than the other.

5. Slot the 1st tube into the 2nd. You can now use this telescope for looking at things farther away, although it will be difficult to view the stars clearly. This type of telescope is really good for viewing the moon.

The images will be upside down, since astronomers don't care about up and down in space (there is no up or down in space, after all). if you wish to align the image with gravity, you can use two prisms aligned in an "N" shape to correct the image, but you will have to re-position the lenses.

1. Gather materials. You'll need two lenses, a mailing tube that has an inside tube and an outside tube (you can get this at the post office or office supply store; it should have a diameter of 2 inches and a length of 43.3 inches), a coping saw, a box cutter, some strong glue and a drill.

Lenses should be a different focal length. For best results get a concave-convex lens with a diameter of 49 mm, and a focal length of 1,350 mm and a plano-concave lens with a diameter of 49 mm, and a focal length of 152 mm.

It's very easy to order lenses off the internet and they aren't very expensive. You can get the pair of lenses for about $16.

The coping saw is the most effective for making clean, straight lines, but you can use any other kind of saw or cutting device if you need to.

2. Cut 2 pieces from the inner tube of the mailing tube. These will be your spacers and they should be about 1 to 1.5 inches in diameter. Make sure you cut clean and straight with the coping saw (or other tool).

The spacers hold the second lens in place at the end of the outer section of the mailing tube.

3. Make eye-hole in mailing tube cap. Use the drill to apply light pressure to the middle of the cap to create your eye hole. Again, this will need to be as smooth and as clean as possible to create the best viewing results.

4. Drill holes on the outside of the large tube. You'll need to make the holes where the lens is going to be placed in the outer tube, because the holes allow you to put glue into the inner part of the tube. Near the end of the inner tube is the best place, about an inch in.

You'll also need to the make holes at the end of the outer tube for the eyepiece and the cap.

5. Cut off closed end of outer tube. You'll end up sticking the inner tube into the outer tube through this hole.

Make sure you get the right lenses for the second telescope, since the wrong lenses will mean you won't get to see anything.

Thanks for submitting a tip for review!

For the magnifying glass telescope:

Two magnifying glasses, not the same size

A roll of corrugated paper

strong glue

scissors

a pencil

For the lens telescope:

Two lenses: concave-convex lens with a diameter of 49 mm, and a focal length of 1,350 mm and a plano-concave lens with a diameter of 49 mm, and a focal length of 152 mm

A mailing tube with inner and outer tubes

Coping saw

Box cutter

Drill or electrician's punch

Glue

Add New Question

How can I improve this simple telescope?

You can increase the magnification power of the lenses, and also add a third or fourth lens.

Are there any effects from looking at the sun?

You should not look at the Sun with a telescope, even for a second, as this could cause permanent blindness.

How I turn the upside down image to a virtual image?

You have to insert one more lenses in between but by doing so the size or length of the telescope will be double or more than double what it is now.

See more answers

This article was reviewed by Anne Schmidt. Anne Schmidt is a Chemistry Instructor in Wisconsin. Anne has been teaching high school chemistry for over 20 years and is passionate about providing accessible and educational chemistry content. She has over 9,000 subscribers to her educational chemistry YouTube channel. She has presented at the American Association of Chemistry Teachers (AATC) and was an Adjunct General Chemistry Instructor at Northeast Wisconsin Technical College. Anne was published in the Journal of Chemical Education as a Co-Author, has an article in ChemEdX, and has presented twice and was published with the AACT. Anne has a BS in Chemistry from the University of Wisconsin, Oshkosh, and an MA in Secondary Education and Teaching from Viterbo University. This article has been viewed 713,479 times.

Updated: September 6, 2022

To make a telescope, start by wrapping a piece of 24 inch long corrugated paper around the diameter of a magnifying glass lens. Next, glue the paper into a tube shape and use scissors to cut 2 slots into it about 1 inch from each end. Then, place two magnifying glass lenses of different sizes into the slots and glue them into place. Finally, make another tube slightly larger than the first and slide the tube with the lenses into it. For tips on how to use a mailing tube to make a telescope, read on!

Thanks to all authors for creating a page that has been read 713,479 times.

Himanshi Malik

"It really helped me. I am longing to buy a telescope and I don't have enough money now. This can help me a lot." ..." more

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