Build your own magnifying glass.
- piece of carton
- water
- book (to test)
Cut a piece of carton out of a empty milk-carton or juicy-carton.
Cut a small hole in the carton and drop carefully a drop of water on it.
Watch one word of your book by looking through your self-made magnifying glass.
The water-drop in the hole can be used like a lens. The shape of the drop is like a lens and magnifies the letter your are watching trough the lens. In order to learn more about how lenses work, read the wiki-article: lenses.