Old Time Game: The Thaumatrope

After reading a book about optical illusions, we made a Thaumatrope with a kangaroo wearing boots and a top hat. And who wants a bit of wikipedia to start the day? 😉

“A Thaumatrope is a toy that was popular in the 19th century. A disk with a picture on each side is attached to two pieces of string. When the strings are twirled quickly between the fingers the two pictures appear to blend into one.”

If you want to make the same one, here is the PDF to print: (you will then need to attach a loop of string (40cm )to each side and twist them before pulling them appart.) Thaumatrope Paris-Bourke <- Click to see PDF I couldn’t make the video go faster to be able to see the illusion on screen, but you will get the idea: