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CD Spinner
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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.

Touch the Spring (Lightbulb)
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In this activity, a lightbulb is placed in front of a concave mirror. The actual lightbulb is not visible to the viewer, but the viewer can see the mirror image of the lightbulb formed in space.

Hole in Your Hand
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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.

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.
Moving Pictures
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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
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In this optics activity, learners conduct an experiment to find out why two eyes are better than one!

Size and Distance
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In this activity about depth perception, learners create an optical illusion in a shoe box.

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

Anti-Gravity Mirror
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In this demonstration, amaze learners by performing simple tricks using mirrors. These tricks take advantage of how a mirror can reflect your right side so it appears to be your left side.

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

Afterimage
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In this activity about light and perception, learners discover how a flash of light can create a lingering image called an "afterimage" on the retina of the eye.

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

Magic Disc
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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)
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We don't normally view people upside down and so our brains aren't accustomed to it.

Our Sense of Sight: How We Perceive Movement, Depth and Illusions
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In this activity, learners investigate visual perception as well as plan and conduct their own experiments.

Sliding Gray Step
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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
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In this activity, learners make a Benham Top to explore visual illusions and optics.

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

Benham’s Disk
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In this activity (on page 2 of the PDF under GPS: Light and Color Activity), learners will see the illusion of colors produced by a rotating black and white image known as Benham’s Disk.

Benham's Disk
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In this optics activity, learners discover that when they rotate a special black and white pattern called a Benham's Disk, it produces the illusion of colored rings.