I made my own binoculars... out of cardboard!

Build your own binoculars
(Image credit: Jason Parnell-Brookes)

A good pair of binoculars can transform your experience of the outside world. They make birding easy, can be a viable alternative to telescopes for stargazing and are fun to take with you in the car spotting planes, trains, or rare automobiles. But with the ongoing cost of living crisis binocular prices are at an all-time high with production costs, materials and shipping costs driving cost higher and higher. That’s where the Build Your Own Binoculars kit, from Buildyourownkits.com, comes in.

Made from cardboard everything about this DIY binocular kit is eco-friendly. The packaging and binoculars themselves are made from recycled cardboard and after just an hour or so of construction they’re ready to use. This is an ethical solution for anyone wanting to get a pair of inexpensive binoculars and full of family fun at the same time as it can be put together in just over an hour with little ones following a comprehensive, but not complicated, set of instructions. At £20 RRP (UK price) they’re an ideal gift for younger users, aimed at flourishing STEM education (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics).

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Jase Parnell-Brookes

Jase Parnell-Brookes is an award-winning photographer, educator and writer based in the UK. They won the Gold Prize award in the Nikon Photo Contest 2018/19 and was named Digital Photographer of the Year in 2014. After completing their Masters Jase has spent a good chunk of two decades studying and working in photography and optics shooting and writing all over the world for big-name brands and media outlets. Now the Channel Editor for Cameras and Skywatching at Space.com their speciality is in low light optics and camera systems.