Eye Spy Workbook

Eye Spy: A Curious Look at How You See the World NEST Pembrokeshire

This 35-page booklet takes the eye apart and puts it back together again. Every second you are awake, two small, water-filled balls turn light into colour, faces, movement and the words on this page, and most of us never stop to wonder how. Eye Spy fixes that. It moves from the science of the eye to maths, history, art, English and health, all built around one remarkable part of the body. It is written to spark curiosity rather than to test, with warm, clear writing, plenty of space for answers, hands-on projects and answers at the back.

What is inside:

Section 1: Inside Your Eye. A full colour labelled diagram and a clear guide to every part, from the cornea to the optic nerve, followed by a label-the-eye challenge with a word bank.

Section 2: Find Your Blind Spot. A simple test card that makes a dot vanish, and the surprising reason every one of us has a hole in our vision.

Section 3: Build a Pinhole Viewer. A STEM project using a cereal box or tube to show why the picture in your eye lands upside down.

Section 4: Make a Spinning Picture Toy. Make a Victorian-style thaumatrope and watch a bird appear inside its cage; with the up-to-date science of why it works.

Section 5: Eye Maths. Pupil areas, blink counts, colour blindness percentages and the goat's astonishing field of view.

Section 6: 1066: The Eye in History. Harold, the Battle of Hastings and the famous arrow; was it ever really there? This section also covers the Bayeux Tapestry, which is on loan to the British Museum until July 2027.

Section 7: Trick Your Own Eyes. Classic optical illusions, plus an afterimage flag that turns into the flag of Wales before your eyes.

Section 8: Draw a Realistic Eye. Seven simple steps artists use to make an eye look alive, with space to have a go.

Section 9: Eyes in Art and Culture. Salvador Dalí's dreamlike eyes, and why he designed the Chupa Chups logo; bold street art eyes; and the Eye of Horus, the nazar and the hamsa, the protective eye charms of Egypt, the Mediterranean and the Middle East.

Section 10: The Fastest Camera You Own. An English comprehension passage on rods, cones and the retina, with six questions.

Section 11: Eyes Across the Animal Kingdom. Goats, octopuses, mantis shrimp, scallops, owls and dragonflies, and a design-your-own-creature project.

Section 12: Looking After Your Eyes. Simple, sensible habits for healthy eyes, linked to National Eye Health Week.

Section 13: Your Eye Spy Reflection. A chance to look back at what surprised, delighted and puzzled them most.

The booklet also includes a how-to-use guide, a getting-this-pack-read-aloud guide for computers, iPads and Android devices, and an answers section for grown ups.

Suitable for: This booklet has no age label but would likely suit those working at KS3/ secondary level. It could easily be adapted with adult support. It is written for curious minds, and curious minds come in all shapes, sizes and ages. If the topics sound interesting to your young person, it will work for them.

Format: instant PDF download, 35 pages, A4, print or use on screen.