With my older son back in school and my little one home half days, I’ve been looking for fun ways to encourage creativity. My little guy is always up for craft projects and while he has no problem heading to the craft cabinet and creating his own, I’ve been working on finding more projects for us to do together. Recently he has really been into birds and animals and we’ve been talking about how binoculars are a great way to see things that are far off more clearly. Occasionally we’ll even let him look through the “big binoculars” to see what life looks like up close. But he’s been asking for his own pair for his imaginary safaris and after looking online and deciding that we could come up with a fun craft instead of making a purchase, we set out to created some kid-sized binoculars that were perfect for his super sized imagination!
What You Will Need:
One Empty Paper Towel Roll (or two bath tissue rolls)
Duct Tape (Color or Design of your Choice)
2 x 1 Inch Piece of Cardboard
String or Twine
Hot Glue Gun and Glue
Scissors
How to Make It:
Start by cutting your paper towel roll in half. Make sure you get the two sides as close to the same length as possible. Then, using duct tape, wrap each side. You will want to cover the ends by folding tape over and sticking it down on the inside. I also found that using two layers of duct tape makes your rolls stronger to last longer.
Once both sides are well covered, set them aside and fold your piece of cardboard in half the long way. The cover it with tape as well.
Now you’re ready to assemble your binoculars. Start by using your scissors to poke a hole into one side of each tube – about an inch from the end. The hole only needs to be large enough to force a piece of string or twine through. Using the end of your scissors, push your string or twine through the whole and knot it several times to keep it from slipping back through.
Once you have string in both sides, line each side of your covered piece of cardboard with hot glue and then attach the sides of your tubes that do not have the string through them to the cardboard.
Now all that’s left to do is let your glue dry and your binoculars will be ready!
Once they are dry, take then on an adventure! Look for creatures real or imaginary and have fun!
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