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Showing results 1 to 20 of 23

CD Spinner
Source Institutions
In this activity, learners create a simple “top” from a CD, marble and bottle cap, and use it as a spinning platform for a variety of illusion-generating patterns.

Hole in Your Hand
Source Institutions
Create an illusion where it appears that your hand has a hole in it. You'll see the results from when one eye gets conflicting information.
The Bent Pencil
Source Institutions
In this optics activity, learners explore how light bends and affects what we see.

Ambiguous Cube
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In this activity, learners construct a three-dimensional ambiguous cube to explore visual illusions and how our brains interpret or misinterpret information.

Vanishing Rods
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This is a quick activity/demonstration that introduces learners to the concept of index of refraction. Learners place stirring rods in a jar of water and notice they can see them clearly.

Jacques Cousteau in Seashells
Source Institutions
Up close, an array of dots could look random, but take a step back, and an image forms. By tracing over an image, learners can create their own dot based image.

Parabolas: It's All Done with Mirrors
Source Institutions
In this activity about light and reflection, learners use a special device called a Mirage Maker™ to create an illusion.
Moving Pictures
Source Institutions
In this optics activity, learners create flip books by drawing an image like an eye opening and closing on 24 small pages of paper.

Penny Cup Game
Source Institutions
In this optics activity, learners conduct an experiment to find out why two eyes are better than one!

Disappearing Glass Rods
Source Institutions
In this optics activity, learners discover how they can make glass objects "disappear." Learners submerge glass objects like stirring rods into a beaker of Wesson™ oil to explore how the principles of

Color Contrast
Source Institutions
Do you have a hard time matching paint swatches with your furniture? When you consider human perception, color is context dependent.

X-Ray Vision?
Source Institutions
In this activity (13th on the page), learners complete a simple illusion trick to see through their own hand.

Squirming Palm
Source Institutions
Known as the waterfall effect, this activity demonstrates adaptation in our visual system.

Magic Disc
Source Institutions
In this activity, learners create an optical illusion by spinning two attached cups. A round ball seems to magically appear when the cups spin.

Michelle O (formerly Vanna)
Source Institutions
We don't normally view people upside down and so our brains aren't accustomed to it.

Sliding Gray Step
Source Institutions
How can you make one shade of gray look like two? By putting it against two different color backgrounds! This activity allows learners to perform this sleight of hand very easily.

Benham's Disk
Source Institutions
In this activity, learners make a Benham Top to explore visual illusions and optics.

Shrinking Spot
Source Institutions
In this activity, learners control the (apparent) size of a hole with their brain.

Arrows
Source Institutions
In this activity, learners surprise their eyes with an optical illusion involving arrows made out of pipe cleaners.

Thaumatrope
Source Institutions
In this activity, learners make an optical illusion toy from the 1800s to explore persistence of vision.