The Clows raised their six children in the limestone house at Riverview Farmstead Preserve. One popular 19th-century toy the Clow children might have played with was called a thaumatrope. Not only is it fun, but it’s also a science experiment!
In Greek, “thauma” means wonder and “trope” means to spin, so this little gadget is a “spinning wonder!”
You can make your own with a few simple materials. Follow along with the video below.
Materials
Circles cut out of card stock or other stiff material
Pencil, markers or crayons
Scissors
Tape or glue
String, paper straw or a stick
Build a thaumatrope
Draw two circles that are the same size on thick paper or card stock. They need to be large enough to draw on. Ours are a little more than 2 1/2 inches in diameter.
Think of something that has two elements that go together and draw them on the circles. The classic example is a bird and a cage. We chose a northern cardinal and a branch for one example. Another is a deer and a winter landscape.
Cut out the circles.
Tape the straw to the plank side of one circle. Then tape the second circle to the other side. It helps to use double-sided tape.
Spin and watch the magic happen!
Instructions for using string instead of a straw:
Follow steps 1-3 from above.
Place the pictures back to back. One is upside down.
Punch a hole on each side of the picture.
Put a 6-inch string through one hole and tie it. Repeat on the other side.
Hold one string in your right hand and the other in your left hand. Twist the string to make the circle spin. Enjoy!
What happens? As you spin the thaumatrope, the two images start to merge into one!
How does it work? This is a toy that uses an optical illusion. When we see an image, it is held on the retina in your eyes for a fraction of a second. If we see another image right away, the two images merge and make a single vision.
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