Spy Gadgets for Kids

The hi-tech spy and surveillance equipment used by the spy kids in the Spy Kids Trilogy drove every kid crazy. Though they knew that every gadget used by Carmen and Juni were just fantasy items, every child craved for them. Well kids, if you want to become undercover working spies and do not want anyone to find out your status, make spy gadgets on your own. Below are a few simple homemade spy gadgets for kids.

While playing a game of hide-and-seek, all of us mentally become spies and try to checkmate the seeker with intelligence and pre-decided strategies. Many times, we even go to the extent of enacting a certain spy character that we are very fond of, the very obvious one being James Bond. The advanced and modern devices that he uses are fancied by everyone. If you ever plan to form a spy group of your own, the following spy gadgets for kids may come in handy for you.

How to Make Spy Gadgets For Kids

Invisible Ink
This is the most common and oldest spy gadget that you may need for sending secret messages to your group mates. Whenever you want to call a meeting of fellow spies or convey some secret information regarding someone or some fact without letting anyone know about it, invisible ink is very helpful. To write an invisible message, dip a toothpick or any other sharp object in lemon, milk, white wine, vinegar, apple juice or orange juice and write on the paper. Let it dry completely. To see the message, just hold it in front of a light bulb or candle flame (not too close). The heat of the bulb will make the message appear in brown color. You can also use sweat or saliva to write a secret message. Since, all body fluids are fluorescent by nature, they can be detected under UV light. So, the person who has to read the message should have a UV light source. This is a very famous war time method of sending invisible messages.

Periscope
This is a very useful device for a spy when he does the actual spy work. It can be used to peep through the windows and doors without being seen. The periscope is kind of a Z-shaped device that can be made from simple cardboard pieces. It is not exactly Z-shaped but has a few minor changes. They are: central vertically slanting line is straight in a periscope and two mirrors are to be fitted firmly at the two joints where the slanting and horizontal lines meet at the top and at the bottom. The angle of both the mirrors inside the periscope should be exactly 45 degrees, with the reflecting sides facing each other, such that the upper mirror reflects the image, seen from the upper hole, to the lower mirror, which we can see through the lower hole. Make the periscope as thin as possible so that no one can spot it while you are holding it up.

Fingerprint Powder
To get the actual feel of a spy, you need to carry fingerprint equipment with you to determine the true identity of a criminal. To make fingerprint powder, use black chalk, graphite from a pencil or charcoal and grind it to a very fine powder. Or, you can collect soot from the chimney directly. You will need a brush to dust away the powder from the crime scene and reveal the fingerprints. Also, clean and thin plastic sheets, cut in small pieces, will be needed to get the fingerprints imprinted for storing it in your database and comparing with the suspect's fingerprints.

Walkie-Talkie
A walkie talkie set is very essential for a spy to keep in contact with his fellow spies. A ready-made walkie-talkie set is easily available in toy shops or you can make one using plastic or paper cups. The paper/plastic walkie talkie will work for a limited distance since it is made by attaching the two cups with a single continuous string. To make this walkie-talkie, make a small hole in both the cups at the bottom and insert a string through it. Pull out the string and make a big enough knot so that it gets stuck in the cup.

Book Hideout
If you want to carry some object very secretly without letting anyone know, the best place to hide it is in a book. You need a thick book like a dictionary. Keep in mind that the book has to have hardcover. Open the book one third and lay it flat on a table. With a sharp knife, cut a rectangular hole in the thicker side of the book. The hole can be as deep as you want. A very thick layer cannot be cut at one time, so cut in a few pages at a time.

A magnifying glass and a spy costume are the most important things that any spy should always have at his disposal. The above spy gadgets for kids to make are not very modern or advanced, but surely they are the basic things that every spy requires. You can get creative and add an electronic feel to them or build your own cool spy gadgets for kids with the electronic toys you have (use the ones that are already broken, don't rip apart a new electronic toy). To all my little aspiring detective friends, go out there and prove that you are indeed the next Sherlock Holmes!