Make a Water Scope for Viewing Pond Life

A couple weeks ago, we found a book at the library called “The Kids Summer Handbook.” (Amazon Affiliate Link) Aidan was really excited about the ideas in this book! I kept finding him reading it in between school subjects. He tried building the cardboard canoe right away, but we didn’t have any wax to melt to seal it and I said I wasn’t buying any, so he moved onto the water scope project.

A water scope allows you to see more clearly into the murky waters of a pond or stream. We are very fortunate to have a creek behind our house, and the boys LOVE to go back there and catch minnows and frogs. I wasn’t sure that I really wanted to see more clearly into the murky water (since there are snakes! eeek!), but we decided to give it a try!

To make one, you will need:

• An empty plastic container. We used a Powerade bottle, but a large yogurt container would work better.
• A rubber band
• Plastic wrap
• A utility knife

Cut the bottom off of whatever container you’re using. This will be the window into the water. Since we were using a bottle, we cut the top off too.

Then, cover the bottom end with plastic wrap. Fasten it on with a rubber band. You want the plastic wrap to go up pretty high on the container, because water will leak in if the container is submerged above the rubber band.

Then you’re ready to explore!

The water scope eliminates glare on the surface of the water, and you can get a much better look at what is down there! It’s hard to tell because of all the glare in this picture, but the water scope really did work well.

Thankfully we didn’t see any snakes! But the older boys went back to the creek later in the afternoon and saw two, so I might not be making any more trips down there. 🙂

For more outdoor fun:

Learn how to make plaster casts of animal tracks – we got some great raccoon prints!

Take art supplies outdoors and draw things that you see in nature!

Use contact paper to make a nature collage – aren’t these pretty?

Preserve real spider webs – with paint and black paper.