This week, Roy wanted to try his hand at making an old fashioned optical toy. Roy is fascinated by optical toys, particularly the very early ones like the phenakistoscope. The Phenakistoscope is a Victorian toy made of a flat disk with slits around the outside. It was created in 1832 by the Belgian physicist Joseph Plateau and when it was spun in front of a mirror, it made the images on it appear to move. Roy thought creating his own shouldn’t be too hard and was thrilled with the results. So this week, Roy Creates a Phenakistoscope.
You Will Need:
- A copy of the template (pictured above). Press on the picture to open it, and then print!
- Heavy paper or cardboard (dark colours work better – Roy used an old cardboard folder)
- Pens and pencils to draw your pictures
- Glue
- Scissors
- A mirror
Method:
- Glue the template sheet onto your cardboard as Roy is doing
- Cut out the template
- Draw a series of pictures in the 'frames' of the template (between the slits). Try to choose a simple image and make sure it stands out clearly (either use thick, dark lines, or colour it with bright colours). Make each image slightly different from the one before. Most people who make a phenakistoscope make the images move in a sequence, so the first and last pictures are similar, so they move flawlessly up and down. Roy decided to copy one of the old pictures he found online though, by making a mouse run across the page and disappear!
- Poke a pencil through the hole (marked in the middle of the template)
- Hold the phenakistoscope near your face, in front of the mirror, with the pictures you drew facing the mirror. Use the pencil to spin the disk and look through the slits you cut to see your picture moving!