| Make
a simple kaleidoscope |
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Kaleidoscopes,
like stories, help you see the world in a new way. You can make
a very simple “scope” and have fun experimenting with
it.
The two basic parts of a kaleidoscope
are a viewing tube and an object chamber. The viewing
tube contains one or more mirrors (or other reflective surfaces).
At one end of the tube is an opening to look through and at the
other end is an object chamber, which contains interesting objects
to be reflected and/or distorted by the mirror(s). If you construct
a viewing tube but choose to not use an object chamber, then
what you have made is called a teleidoscope. A teleidoscope
is like a kaleidoscope, but instead of the mirror reflecting
objects at the end of the tube, it reflects and distorts the
outside world. |
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| Constructing
a viewing tube |
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You
need:
A cardboard tube from a roll of
paper towels – trim one end to make it 11” long.
An 8 ½”x11” piece of
white paper. Trim this paper so that it is 11” long
and as wide as the circumference of the tube plus about ½”.
(The easiest way to measure is to wrap the width of the paper
around the tube and mark where the paper overlaps itself.)
A piece of clear flexible plastic.
It should have a shiny finish, not a matte finish. You can buy
it by the sheet or roll in an art store, or use report covers
or acetate overhead sheets from an office supply store. Cut it
to the same dimensions as the piece of white paper.
Step 1: Lay the plastic on the paper and align the edges.
Step 2: Roll the long edges of the plastic and paper “sandwich”
into a cylinder, with the plastic on the inside. Make this cylinder
smaller in diameter than the cardboard tube.
Step 3: Insert the paper-plastic cylinder in the cardboard
tube and let the paper-plastic cylinder unwind to fit the inside
of the cardboard tube. Align the ends of the paper-plastic with
the ends of the cardboard tube.
Step 4: Put your eye to one end of the tube and look at
the world around you, searching especially for bright, colorful
objects. Note how the shapes and colors swirl up the inside of
the tube.
Step 5: (optional) Decorate the outside of the tube.
You have now made a teleidoscope. You can make your teleidoscope
into a kaleidoscope by making an object chamber to look at through
the viewing tube. |
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| Making an object
chamber |
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Supplies: This simple object chamber uses wax
paper, crayons, old newspapers, and an iron. (Caution: young
children will need adult help with the iron.)
Step 1: Cut two pieces of wax paper, at least 6”x6”.
Step 2: Using a plastic knife or a plastic spoon (or a
pencil or crayon sharpener), shave bits of old crayons onto the
center of one of the pieces of wax paper – leaving a 2”
margin. Use several bright colors.
Step 3: Place the other piece of wax paper on top and
iron the two pieces together. NOTE: use a fairly cool iron –
it doesn’t take much heat to melt the wax and you don’t
want the colors to all run together and become “mud”.
You’ll need to use layers of newspaper to protect the iron
and your ironing surface from melted wax. If you’re making
a number of these, use large sheets of wax paper, iron the big
“sandwich” and let the wax cool and harden before you
cut it into smaller squares or circles. The finished pieces should
be approximately three times the diameter of your viewing tube.
To view your Crayon Object Chamber: hold it up against
the far end of your viewing tube and aim the tube at a strong
light source. Move the wax paper square or disk in a circular
motion and watch the image change. |
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Do
you think kaleidoscopes are fun?
So do we! We've put together some print and on-line resources
that will get you started exploring the world of kaleidoscopes. |
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Terry Deer & Suzie Shaeffer
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