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Description

Creative experiment showing how our eyes and brain merge fast moving images.
As the circle spins, our eyes see one picture after the other. The pictures come around so fast that our brain can't separate them. Instead, it merges the two. So you see one picture - of the bird caught inside the cage.

Video with different examples of these thaumatropes can be found here https://youtu.be/VmBGD-L-Jn4?feature=shared

A thaumatrope is an optical illusion toy that was popular in the 19th century. It was invented in 1826 by a British doctor, John Ayrton Paris. This toy comprises of a small disc with a different image on each side - the images are related (e.g. a bird on one side, and a bird cage on the other). The disc is attached to 2 strings. When the strings are twirled quickly between the fingers the 2 pictures appear to merge or blend into one due to the Persistence of Vision.

Peristence of Vision is the eye's ability to keep seeing an image of an object for a fraction of a second after the object has disappeared from view. Persistence of Vision allows us to see motion pictures and animated cartoons.

Thaumatrope comes from the Greek words:
Thauma, meaning 'wonder' and,
Tropos, meaning 'turn'.
So, thaumatrope means 'wonder turn'.

Resources

White Card
Mug (or similar) for drawing the circles
Pens
String
Hole punch
Scissors

Instructions

1. draw 2 circles on a piece of card and cut them out
2. draw a bird on one circle and a cage on the other
3. Turn the cage upside down then glue then together back to back
4. use the hole punch to make 2 holes on either side of the cage.
5. Cut 2 pieces of string as long as your arm
6. Thread a piece of string through one pair of holes then know the ends. do the same on the other side.

How it works:
1. Hold the knots so that the circle hangs down
2. flip the circle over and around until the string is twisted up tightly
3. Now, with both hands, pull the string tight. This makes the circle spin around really fast.

Option: The Bird and the Cage may be replaced by any image the Cub chooses and themed around your meeting. For Mother's Day we are doing pictures of the Cub inside a big heart (Mum's heart).

Tags

• artist
• craft
• creative
• Drawing
• experiment
• Make things

Badge Links

• Experiment - Experiment