The ability to perceive motion is so important to us humans
that we can easily fool our eyes into seeing movement that isn't actually there.
In this activity you and your kids will create your very own animations.
Today we are going to have a look at these interesting things here.
These are called thaumatropes.
Can you see there are some pictures on them here?
Do you want to take a look?
Tell me what you can see and what you think they might be for.
So it makes you... It looks like a movement, so it's like that and then it explodes.
So we are going to have a go at making these ourselves today.
And I've been to the Ri website and downloaded and printed off these templates.
So we are going to use these.
And there's only one rule to this really and that rule is
that you have to draw the picture the same way up on here.
So when you fold them over and you spin them around
they're both looking the same way up.
Draw one image in the top half of the template and another image in the bottom half.
Ask your kids lots of questions about what they think will work best and why.
Then carefully cut out the shape.
Glue some string or a thin skewer to the middle of the template and fold the other
side over.
It works.
It does actually, doesn't it? - Let me try.
This little toy is called a thaumatrope and it
takes advantage of our persistence of vision.
This means that the image on one side of the toy
lingers in our vision long enough
that we see it overlap with the image on the other side.
The faster you spin it, the better the illusion becomes.
OK, Daniel, when you look at this picture, and you see a picture of two people,
are they moving?
No.
So it's just like a picture of two people that are not moving.
Do you think it would be quite fun to try and create something where it
looks like the picture inside is moving?
I know how!
So we've got this funny picture on a disk.
Shall we try... I think a really good way to make this picture spin
is to pop this pencil in the middle of it and then try to spin it around.
So do you want to?
It doesn't work. - Doesn't work?
Ask your kids if they can figure out how to get this phenakistiscope to work.
Why do you think we've got a mirror on the table?
Do you think that has something to do with this activity?
Yeah, obviously, because it's on the table.
Suggest they peer through the slots at the mirror while you spin the disk.
It's working! - So tell me what's happening?
He's walking really fast. - He's walking?
And we've got some blank templates here that we've printed off again from the Ri website.
So we can have one each. So we're going to do the drawings first and then you can cut
them out afterwards.
So you've got to try and think of something in it that's going to do some kind of gentle movement.
It's working!
Now you do it, now you do it! - OK.
When you watch any kind of moving image on a screen, including this video, what you're
really seeing is a series of still images, like these, where the subject in the images
changes position slightly each time. If the images are shown quickly enough we perceive
movement.
Why don't we work out why we think this is actually looking like something that's moving
when we look through.
So is it like in a cartoon? It's just lots of pictures animated together so it's like
that. But when it's mirrored and kind of like, you know like, you can't really see it, it
tricks your mind to assume that it's moving, because you can't quite see. - OK.
These phenakistiscopes also have a series if images on them. When viewed in the mirror,
through the passing slits, we're only able to see the images one at a time in quick succession,
so we perceive movement.
We've had lots of fun today doing this activity. If you want to have a go at it yourself you
can go to the Ri website and download the templates. Don't forget to like and subscribe.