Magic Disc

Add to list Go to activity
In this activity, learners create an optical illusion by spinning two attached cups. A round ball seems to magically appear when the cups spin. [Activity is publicly available through a web crawler capture on Archive.org.]

Quick Guide

Preparation Time:
Under 5 minutes
Learning Time:
Under 5 minutes
Estimated Materials Cost:
1 cent - $1 per student
Age Range:
Ages 6 - 11
Resource Type:
Activity
Language:
English

Materials List (per student)

  • 2 clear plastic cups
  • masking tape
  • colored markers

Keywords

Subjects

  • Life Sciences
    • Human Body
      • The Brain and Nervous System
    • Human Senses and Perception
      • Vision
      • Perception
  • Physical Sciences
    • Vibration and Waves
      • Light and Optics
  • The Nature of Science
    • The Scientific Process
      • Conducting Investigations

Audience

To use this activity, learners need to:

  • see
  • see color
  • touch

Learning styles supported:

  • Involves hands-on or lab activities

Other

This resource is part of:

Access Rights:

  • Free access

By:

Rights:

  • All rights reserved, WGBH Educational Foundation, 2002

Funding Sources:

  • National Science Foundation, 0229796
  • Corporation for Public Broadcasting
  • The Arthur Vining Davis Foundation
  • PBS