The Persistence of Vision from Sci-Tech Discovery Center


video


Items Needed: • Scissors • White Paper • Crayons or Markers • Tape • Straw or Pencil


Procedure:


1) Cut out two equal size circles from your white paper. They do not have to be a particular size, but you want the diameter to be at least one inch less than the straw or pencil.


2) Use crayons to color both circles. I like to draw a fish bowl and a fish or a sun and it’s rays, but you can draw any two pictures you would like to combine!


3) Place one face down on the table and tape a straw length-wise on the back of the circle. (There should be a little bit of the straw sticking out on either side of the circle)


70 North Texas Kids • July 2011 • www.NorthTexasKids.com


In this experiment, we used persistence of vision to combine two separate images to create one whole image. Our eye takes pictures of what we see, but sometimes the previous picture can mix together with the new picture to create a combined image. This can happen when things are moving too fast for our eyes to separate them. Persistence of Vision is the ability of the eye to retain the impression of an image for a short time after the image has disappeared. Thaumatropes have been around since the 1800’s and are considered one of the first stepping- stones to cinematography and animation.


For more Mind Stretching Fun, visit the Sci-Tech Discovery Center online at www.mindstretchingfun.org or visit their museum in Frisco, Texas. Make sure you don’t miss their current exhibit: Playing With Time


4) Place the other circle face up and upside down on top of the other and tape the two circles together.


5) Use your fingers on either side of the straw to spin the circles back and forth, so that you can see both of the images combined.


The Science:


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