Do Not Look Directly At The Sun! DIY Eclipse Viewer Ideas

Saturday's Annular Eclipse looks to be a good one here in the Ark-La-Tex, we in this part of Texas and Southwest Arkansas won't get the full eclipse view that they will have in West Texas but we will get a partial, and with near-perfect weather featuring sunny skies and mild temperatures. But how are we going to view the eclipse if we can't find any of those eclipse-viewing glasses? We have some alternatives you can make at home, most with things you probably already have.

All it took was a quick search on YouTube.com for viewing an eclipse and tons of these simple, but effective eclipse viewing methods began popping up, tons of them in fact. After spending some time watching a bunch of these, here are some that I thought were pretty simple to build and most are easy enough that your kids should be able to do it almost unsupervised. Except for the 30-year-old living in your basement, you might want to keep a sharp eye on him.

1. Toilet Paper Tube:

A quick project that is very easy to do, looks good when you're done, is small, and is very effective.

2. The Cereal Box Viewer

Chief Meteorologist Wes Hohenstein from TV station CBS17 in Raleigh, Durham, NC put this video up on YouTube.com about six years ago. You should have everything you need for this one right now.

3. Binocular Viewing Method:

I don't know if Mark Waldman works for NASA or if he just made the video standing outside of NASA while wearing one of their shirts, but it's a good video on how to use your binoculars view the eclipse.

4. Woodworkers - This One Is For You:

If you have a little more time and some woodworking skills, this is a terrific project from Terry Richardson, senior instructor of astronomy and physics at the College of Charleston, South Carolina.

If these don't work for you there are a ton more, simply click on this YouTube Search and find one you like.

Be safe... do not look directly at the sun... Happy viewing!