How to Build a Periscope

Every spy needs to know how to build a periscope. It's a simple yet effective tool to look over walls and around corners.

Here are the building instructions we recently got from a retired KGB agent... Ok, we had to rough him up a little, but now we know how to make a periscope.

Of course, we know how to do that already, but these plans are easy and elegant. Enjoy!

How to build a periscope

Here's the blueprint on the periscope we've got from the Russians (who now conveniently write in English, ;-D ):

What you need:

  • 2 mirrors (approx. 2" by 1", but other sizes work well too)
  • a piece of carton (approx. 6 1/2" wide, 8" long. Or roughly 3 times the width of your mirrors and 4 times the height)
  • Scissors
  • Glue
  • Some paint to give it a nice spy look!

How to make the periscope:

  1. Draw the lines on your carton as you see them on the plans. Note that there are dashed lines, these are fold lines, don't cut through those. The full lines are cut lines, use scissors to cut through those.
  2. Paste your mirrors on the spots where it says "mirrors".
  3. Fold the carton into a box. One mirror is looking up, the other one is looking down. Paste it so it stays box shaped.
  4. Fold the mirrors in so they are roughly in an angle of 45 degrees. Then fold the side flaps in and paste it to the back of the flap. Both sides!
  5. You have a working periscope now! Look through the lower mirror, and you can see much higher... over a wall, for instance. Or around a corner!
  6. Now give it that tough spy look by giving your new apparatus a couple of coats of paint. Think how it should look to blend in with the background. Green and brown is nice for the bushes, bad for the snow!

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