Shelburne Museum's Toy Shop is home to many spectacular toys. Amongst all there is to see, my favorite toys at the shop are those that 'trick the eyes.' These are known as optical toys.
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| Learn more about the fascinating world of stereopticons by clicking here. (Photo from Turtle Point Press's Traveltainted Blog) |
Stereopticons were expensive toys for some families in the 1800s. But let me introduce you to a simple optical toy that you can make at home: the thaumatrope.
A thaumatrope--also called a 'turning marvel'--is a disc with two different
images on each side. The disc has strings attached on opposite ends. The holder
of the thaumatrope twists one of the strings. Once it is completely twisted up,
he or she takes hold of both the strings and allows the disc to start
spinning. Here's the cool part: our eyes continue to see an image for a
fraction of second after it has left our sight. So as the
thaumatrope's images keep spinning in and out of view, our eyes make the
two images appear as one picture.
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| You can find the original source of this photo by clicking here. |
Can you
imagine the two images above as one? Spinning this antique thaumatrope would make
it look like the hound is chasing the wild birds!
Let me show you how easy it is to make your very own thaumatrope! Here's what
you will need:
· Card stock, recycled cardboard,
or posterboard (you'll want something thicker than paper so that the attached
strings do not rip through your disc)
· String (for large thaumatropes)
· Rubber bands (for small
thaumatropes)
· Pencil
· Colored Pencils, Crayons, or
Markers (optional)
· Glue stick
I found
this gift box lying around to make my thaumatrope. Think green and find an old
cardboard box, poster board, or perhaps an old birthday card to make your
thaumatrope disc. If what you find has images already on it, trace your disc
onto regular paper, draw your designs on the paper, and then glue your illustrations on the disc faces.
I also
found a cake round to use as my disc template. I made my thaumatrope really big so you could see, but I suggest making yours much smaller than mine (no wider than 3 inches). It is a lot of work twisting the string to get a big disc
spinning!
Now that
I have my discs, I'm ready to draw! When you are ready to draw, I recommend
picking two images that 'tell' a little story. Here are some ideas to help get
you started:
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| Man on a Horse You can find the original source of this image by clicking here. |
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| Flowers in a Vase You can find the original source of this image by clicking here. |
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| Bird in a Cage You can find the original source of this image by clicking here. |
Looking
for more inspiration? Click here to see even more examples of thaumatropes!
I used a
picture of myself to help me draw a likeness on one circle. Can you see the
thought bubble on the other disc? What do you think I'll be thinking about?
My friend
Paige helped me outline my drawing with a black marker.
It's time
to punch some holes! Make sure the holes line up on each on circle.
Carefully
glue the two sides together. Make sure that the holes line up, but also make
sure that you glue one image upside down, just like how Paige is gluing the
image of me in the picture above.
Finally,
you only need to attach the strings! For large thaumatropes like mine, you'll
either need really strong rubber bands or good string. But, for small
thaumatropes, rubber bands work great.
So what was I thinking about on my thaumatrope? Watch
this video of my 'turning marvel' in action to find out!
I was
thinking about Claude Monet's Charing Cross Bridge, London, which you can
see at the Electra Havemeyer Webb Memorial Building when the Museum opens for
the season on May 12! Tune in next time, and I'll show you a fun art
activity based on Monet's fabulous painting.
