Schools out. The kids are bored. It’s hot. What better diversion than underwater explorations in a local creek.
This simple aqua-scope will allow kids to get a close-up, underwater view of all the minnows, tadpoles and other critters swimming around in the creek.
Make it
Take a 2-liter plastic soda-bottle and cut off both the top and the bottom. If you only have a smaller bottle (like the one we made here), just cut off the bottom.
Use a rubber band to loosely secure a piece of plastic wrap over the open bottom of the bottle.
Visit a shallow body of water like a creek or pond. Put the plastic wrap end of the bottle into the water and look down through the top of the bottle. The plastic wrap will stretch upward to make a lens that magnifies the creek bottom and everything swimming underneath!
Explore
How does the image you see through the aqua-scope change as you tighten the plastic wrap or make it looser?
What if you make the tube longer (tape two bottles together) or shorter?
