You’ll need
- A printout of the Bee Thaumatrope design on A4 paper
- Scissors
- A skewer
- Tape
- Colouring pencils (optional)
What to do
- Gather your materials on a flat surface.
- Cut out the pattern and fold the paper on the thick black fold line. Open it up and place it on the table, drawing side down.
- Tape the skewer on the back of one of the circles. Put one end of the skewer at the top of the paper and have the other end poking out the bottom.
- Fold it so that the circles line up. It should look like a gigantic lollipop. Tape the 2 circles together.
- Hold the stick between the palms of your hands and twist it slowly so the paper flips from one picture to the other.
Questions to ask
- How fast do you need to spin the thaumatrope before the images appear as one?
- Can you make your own thaumatrope?
- What 2 pictures could go together?
You could try:
- a bird and a nest
- a frog on a lily pad
- flowers and a vase.
What's happening
This type of toy is called a thaumatrope. A thaumatrope creates an optical illusion.
When you look at a picture, your brain remembers the image for about one-twentieth of a second after the object is gone. That is not very long! When you see a second picture while your brain can still remember the first one, your brain remembers both images after they have disappeared. Because the thaumatrope keeps spinning, the 2 pictures appear to merge together.
Did you know
Thaumatropes were common toys about 200 years ago. They were used as a type of animation before modern cinema was invented.
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