Science experiments · lesson 28 of 30 · free

Mirror periscope — Science experiments for kids

You need: an empty juice carton, two small plastic safety mirrors, sticky tape, a ruler and a pencil. What happens: looking into the bottom window, you can see over a table or wall. Why: light reflects (bounces) off the top mirror down the tube, then off the bottom mirror into your eye. Each mirror is tilted at 45°, so the light turns a right angle twice. Submarines use periscopes to look above the water.

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What you do

Bounce, bounce, see — “light reflects off two parallel mirrors at 45° and reaches your eye”

  1. 1. An adult cuts a window near the top on one side of the carton and near the bottom on the other.
  2. 2. Tape one mirror at 45° behind each window, the two mirrors facing each other.
  3. 3. Look into the bottom window and adjust the mirrors until the view is clear.
  4. 4. Peep over a table or wall — never point it at the Sun.

Use it for: Class 6–8 lessons on light and reflection; a STEM project for kids with mirrors.

Worked example: 🔭 At what angle are the mirrors set in a simple periscope? → 45 degrees

  1. Each mirror must turn the light through a right angle.
  2. So each one is tilted at 45 degrees.

Check: Cover the top mirror and you see only darkness ✓

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✏️ Practice

Work it out in your head or on paper, type the answer and press Check. Stuck? Press “Show me how”.

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🏁 Lesson 28 test

20 questions. Check each answer, then go to the next one. Get 16 or more right to pass.

🏅 Sign in with Google to earn the 🔭 Periscope Peeker badge when you pass — and a certificate when you finish all 10 lessons of Part 3 · Physics and STEM projects. You can still take the test without signing in.

🖨️ Periscope STEM Project Worksheet

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