The camera obscura (literally darkened room) is the ancestor of all cameras, and Leonardo da Vinci pioneered the use of this early photographic device to capture a projected image.
A large camera obscura consisted of a room, with the person viewing the image inside the room. A small camera obscura, like this one, consists of a closed box, where the image is projected onto a translucent screen. This sort of camera obscura was used as a scientific toy and an aid for drawing for many years.

This educational kit allows you to construct your own camera obscura. The body of the camera obscura is constructed from laser cut pieces of MDF, and is 7.5cm x 7.5 cm in cross section. The length varies as you slide the two pieces in or out.