Make Your Own Red Lens Viewer for Breakout EDU

Monday, April 02, 2018

Have you seen the new Breakout EDU kits? Unlike the original Breakout EDU kit that I had purchased a couple of years ago, they come with two new black Breakout EDU boxes, a directional multilock that comes with additional wheels, a deck of reflection cards, two hint cards and 12 months of access to the Breakout EDU Platform that contains 10+ Subject Packs. (Fear not. If you already have a kit and you don't want to purchase a platform access code to check out the new games, you can still access hundreds of free Breakout EDU games by registering for a free account.) I recently discovered that the new kit also comes with a cool red lens viewer and my first thought was: I want one! So of course, my crafty instincts kicked into gear and I found a way to make my own red lens viewer using materials I had at home.

How to Make Your Own Red Lens Viewer

For this project, I found an old pack of inkjet transparency film that I had bought while in Teachers' College. I don't use them anymore because really, overhead projectors are becoming as obsolete as the carousel slide projector. If you don't have any on hand, you could try looking for red acetate. And if you do find any, I would love it if you could share where you found it. Thanks!

Materials:

inkjet transparency film (or red acetate)
card stock
two-way glue tape
marker
scissors

Directions:

Step 1: Create a document with a large red rectangle to cover the whole page and print onto the inkjet transparency film. Be sure it prints onto the rough (not glossy) side of the sheet. Or, if you can find some, you could use red acetate.

Make Your Own Red Lens Viewer - printable template

Step 2: Create the viewer frame by printing out the above red lens viewer template onto card stock and using craft scissors to cut out the frames. If you're lucky enough to own a new Cricut Explore Air 2 like I do, you can design a template and have Cricut do all the hard work for you!

Step 3: Trace the perimeter of the frame onto the transparency or acetate using a marker such as a Sharpie and cut it out.

Step 4: Using a two-way glue tape runner from the dollar store or an advanced tape glider, adhere one frame to the film.

Step 5: Repeat Step 4 and adhere a second frame to the back to make it even sturdier.

To create a hidden message, here are instructions for using their fun Breakout EDU pattern background that you can print out and write on with a blue pen or pencil, or their editable Google Slides file where you can edit the secret message before printing.