Sunday, February 28, 2010

Build a Kaleidoscope

You can use mirrors and beads to make a colorful kaleidoscope. All you have to do is shake it, and beautiful patterns form, one after another.
You will need the following:
Flashlight,Sharp pencil,Tape,Beads,Scissors,Cardstock,Tracing Paper,
three small mirrors,Hole punch

1. Tape the three mirrors together to form a traingle.

2. Draw around the mirrors on the card.
3. Cut out the triangle. Use a pencil or hole punch to make a hole in the middle of the triangle.
4. Tape the triangle to one end of the mirrors.
5. Stretch the tracing paper over the end of the mirrors. Tape it firmly in place.
6. Drop some beads through the hole. Your kaleidoscope is now ready.

7. Shine the flashlight onto the tracing paper and look through the hole, into the kaleidoscope. You see several images of the beads combined, forming a pattern. Shake the kaleidoscope to change the pattern.
***The mirrors reflect light from the beads to form several images of them.***

6 comments:

  1. Thank you for informing us that this activity may not be suitable for small kids because of the beads. Great experiment.

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  2. What does it look like if you just use 1 color of beads?

    Great experiment! Thank you for explaining your concern for younger kids.

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  3. Very cool. I think this will be fun to do. Thank you for bringing in an example to show us the outcome.

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  4. That will be a fun experiment for kids. They will love using different colors.

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  5. What type of a lesson would you do with this experiment?

    Is there a way to cover up the hole so that the beads do not fall out, but it doesn't take away from the effect of the flashlight?

    I love this and am stealing this to use at my learning center!

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  6. I liked how you brought the finished product to class so we could play with it too :)It was also very nice when you stated that this experiment may not be appropriate/safe for younger students because of the beads. Nice work!

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