• Use the idea that light travels in straight lines to explain that objects are seen because they give out or reflect light into the eye.
• Science, Year 3, Light
• Notice that light is reflected from surfaces.
• Design & Technology, Key Stage 2, Make
• Select from and use a wider range of tools and equipment to perform practical tasks (for example, cutting, shaping, joining and finishing), accurately.
• A STEM kit for 60 children to make their own periscope and understand its workings.
• Children explore light reflection and material usage with the periscope. Includes a lesson plan and pupil worksheets.
• Teachers will find this kit useful for hands-on stem education. Each child constructs their periscope, exploring light reflection practically. This enhances scientific understanding and encourages creativity as children decorate their periscopes. The kit includes a lesson plan, PowerPoint and pupil worksheet for comprehensive guidance.
• For Science, the stem kit helps children understand that light reflects from surfaces. By constructing and using the periscope, they grasp how light behaves, making complex concepts accessible and stimulating interest in science activities and experiments.
Pupils will use a protractor to mark out angles of 45°, use scissors to cut slots for the mirrors and use tape to assemble the card box. They will measure and cut mirrors, attach them to a mountboard support, fit them into the slots and then decorate their periscope.
• Fantastic cross-curricular STEM activity for 60 pupils
• Supported by a lesson plan, PowerPoint, pupil worksheet and ‘how to’ blog
• Once built, students can decorate and personalise their Periscope
• Created by mechanical engineer Caroline Alliston