Pinhole cameras and eyes
In this activity, students make a pinhole camera and see images formed on an internal screen. They then use a lens and see brighter and sharper images. This models the human eye.
Pinhole cameras
These are two simple pinhole camera designs that students can make in a few minutes. Clear images can be seen on the internal screen. A lens placed in front of the hole produces sharply focused images.
By the end of this activity, students should be able to:
describe how a pinhole camera produces a small upside-down image
explain why a larger hole produces a brighter but less focused image
observe how a lens placed in front of the pinhole camera produces a bright and sharply focused image
compare a pinhole camera with a human eye, describing similarities and differences.
Download the Word file (see link below) for:
introduction/background notes
what you need
what to do
discussion questions
student instructions.
Nature of science
Physical models can be useful to help build understanding of science ideas. The pinhole camera has similarities to the human eye that are useful to help explain how images are formed and how the cornea and lens of the eye contribute to the formation of bright and sharply focused images.
