Part of the learning experience in Molly Wallish’s Photography class is learning how a camera works. This year, Wallish had students make a camera, of sorts, using cardboard, a magnifying glass, a thin piece of paper, and lots of tape. Students cut the cardboard into two different three-dimensional rectangles, one slightly smaller so it could slide into the other.

Students then affixed the magnifying glass to the larger box, attached a thin sheet of special paper to the smaller box, and could then view an object ‘projected’ on to the paper. (And yes, the picture is supposed to be upside down as it is with a real camera until its flipped right-side up.)

The image can be brought into focus by sliding the smaller box further in or out of the larger box, or by moving closer to or further away from the object.