That looks like a head for a giraffe.
Looks like a rainbow wand.
Looks like a king caterpillar and the same on there.
Our brains are constantly trying to make sense of the world around us.
In this activity, you and your kids will look for familiar shapes
in random patterns and learn about
how our brains process the things we see.
Have you never been in the park when you've looked up to the sky
and you've looked at the clouds and you've seen funny shapes.
Can you imagine what kind of shapes you will have seen in the clouds?
A duck. - Yup.
I've definitely seen a duck at some point. What other shapes?
Mouse. - Possibly. Or an elephant?
You’ve probably looked up at the sky
and spotted shapes in the clouds before.
Even though we know there really isn’t a duck or a mouse,
our brains are always scanning for shapes and objects
that we recognise from everyday life.
Talking about this familiar idea is a really good way to get the activity going.
Phoebe, look at all these paints.
I want you to choose one or two colours and then we'll splat them on a paper.
Fold the paper over and then see if we can see any shapes. OK?
So try putting some on.
And then we turn it over.
Oh wow.
What do you think? Can you see anything there?
Ooh yeah! That one looks like a bit like a fish
and that one looks like a foot.
Like a foot. - With two little toes.
These patterns might remind you of the classic ‘inkblot test’
that was once used to try and tell things about people’s personalities
according to what shapes they saw.
Psychologists have long-since stopped using this,
so this experiment is not about trying to infer anything about your child’s psyche.
Instead it’s about raising interesting ideas about
why we find it so easy to see shapes in random patterns,
experimenting, and having fun.
Ooh. - Ooh.
Next time I think we should put the blobs there
and then fold it over without mixing it up
and see what shapes we get.
OK, let's do it.
Encourage your children to think of different ways to change the paintings.
They could add more colours, fold the paper in a different way,
or mix the colours together.
And see what colour it makes and also see what shape it makes.
By doing this, they’re getting used to changing different factors in an experiment,
and it might get them thinking about how they recognise objects in real life.
That way looking it looked like a potato with two ears.
A potato with two ears!
We see shapes and objects in the random patterns because our brains
are so well designed to spot and remember objects and animals in real life.
It’s sort of a short-cut our brains use to process the world quickly,
but it can sometimes mean we see things in unexpected places.
Did you find it easier to see more shapes with all the colours
or easier with just the one colour?
Easier with loads of colours.
Do you? And why is that?
Because I think it would make a different shape.
Encourage your children to think about which shapes are easiest to see,
what affects how easy it is, and why this might be.
Questions like these will get them thinking more deeply about the activity,
and may help them appreciate how our brains make sense of the things we see.
So do you think you're seeing a butterfly in that shape
because you know what a butterfly looks like and that you like butterflies
and you think about butterflies? - Yeah.
Which ones do you think have created the best shapes?
That one and the flower.
You see a flower. - Yeah.
But when I look at it, I see a person jumping up, didn't I?
So why do you think I can see a person jumping up but you can see a flower?
Because it's just like...
When the paintings are all dry, try adding detail with a pen
to make the shapes look even more life-like.
And next time you’re in the park, look up at the clouds
and see what shapes you can spot.
We've had a great time this afternoon with all the paint and mess.
If you'd like to try it for yourself,
then you can go the Ri website for more information
and don't forget to like and subscribe.