Kaleidoscope
Overview: A kaleidoscope is a toy consisting of a tube containing mirrors and pieces of colored glass or paper, whose reflections produce changing patterns that are visible through an eyehole when the tube is rotated.
Supplies: Various types of kaleidoscopes
Objectives: If looked at in detail, it can be seen that there are multiple mirrors reflecting an image to create a beautiful pattern. Twist your kaleidoscope and enjoy
Setup:
- Place the kaleidoscopes out on the table
How to run the demo:
- Look through the eyepiece
- Depending on the type of kaleidoscope, rotate the entire scope or rotate the end piece
- Look towards a light source for better viewing
What’s Happening?
The internals of a kaleidoscope is composed of 3 mirrors placed in a triangle formation. The end piece is either a lens or a collection of moving beads in a container or some such item. As the kaleidoscope is rotated the image you see straight through the tube is also being reflected off each of the three mirrors. This multitude of reflections creates a symmetrical pattern that changes as the tube is rotated.
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