Illusions:
These are set up as 2 hour classes. I did much of the prep myself so we could easily move from one concept to the other without anyone having to set much up. The main book I am using is Optical Illusion Experiments by Michael A DiSpezio. The other two books I used in my set up of this class are the following: The Great Book of Optical Illusions by Gyles Brandreth and PENTAMAGIC An eye-catching collection of visual magic 150 colorful puzzles, optical illusions, and sleighs-of-hand that will fool the eye and delight the imagination by Pentagrams, creators of puzzlegrams. I have library books to incorporate as well. I'm being picky and just choosing the illusions that I think are interesting or tie into what we are learning.
Class 1: Introduction, Illusions of Motion, Hardwired Illusions
Materials needed: white paper, markers, magnifying glass, tape, pencil, printouts, spinning disks on threads, pencil spinner, scissors, pencils, heavy stock paper, ruler, flip books, pencil crayons, black construction paper squares, coloured markers, Spinner with black circles on half,
Introduction:
- Explain how humans decode what we see
- Your biology (your eye, optic nerve, and the incredible system of nerve cells that make up the part of your brain that gathers up what you see) and your experience (you continuously collect a record of the things you've seen and from those memories your mind creates short cuts to help decode what it is you are actually seeing)
- If this didn't work, the person you see down the street you would see as tiny, but in actual fact he is tall. Your mind would have to work through each experience you have as they were all new again. This would be time consuming. This is why your brain creates shortcuts to help you decode quickly.
- Explain what an optical illusion is
- An optical illusion is something that appears different from what it actually is; some can make things look darker, lighter, wider, bigger, straighter, rounder, higher, or lower.
- Other types of viewing tricks can make objects pop out as if they are going to touch you. And others can create the appearance of smooth motion from quickly flipping a stack of paper. The list goes on and on.
- Tell kids what they can expect in this class
Illusions of Motion:
- Read pages 8-9 (leaving out out-dated technology and including computer technology). This explains how fast images flashed before our eyes become movies because our mind takes short cuts to deal with the large amount of information it gets.
- Fan Trails - pg 14-15 (have rolled up papers ready)
- Light the candle and more fun - pg 18-20 (to save time, have the spinning disks on threads set up ahead of time)
- Flights of Imagination - pg 24-25 - (have set up ahead of time to save time)
- Flippin' Fin Fun - pg 32-33 - (create flip books in advanced - pg 31)
- Stencil the Snail - (create flip books in advanced - pg 31, make snail stencil)
- Twist and Turns - (create flip books in advanced - pg 31)
- A Cast of Two (create flip books in advanced - pg 31, print off fish stencils)
** WASHROOM BREAK **
Hard Wired Illusions:
- Introduction on how the eye works - read pages 42-43
- Blind Spot - pg 44-45 (make little strips of paper)
- Where have all the colours gone - pg 46-47
- Field Trip - discuss the phenomenon and ask if it's happened to anyone and explain why it happens
- More Field Work - pg 51 - This one is done outside if it's clear outside. If it isn't, I can offer to do it the next class
- Pump Up the Difference - pg 52-53
- Not Fade Away - pg 54-55
- Colour Code - pg 56-57 (photocopy cans on page 57)
- Pink Pigs - pg 58-59
- A different Spin on colour perception - pg 62-63 - RGB Wheel
Free time? Look at Illusions in books and discuss: pg 11 - spinning spiral,
**CLEAN UP**
Class 2: Distortions of Length and Size, Jumble of Bumble, Illusions of Depth
Materials Needed: 3 sizes of coins or dark circles, toothpicks, paperclips, printouts, rulers, cut out trapezoids, towel rolls cut in half, pencil crayons, white paper
Distortions of Length and Size
- Introduction - read pg 66-67
- Illusionary lengths - pg 68-71 (have printouts of the drawing needed)
- Room for mistakes - pg 72-73 (have printouts ready)
- Tracks of the trade - pg 74-75 (have printouts ready)
- Adding arrow heads - pg 76-77 (have arrow lines ready on printout)
- Rulers don't lie - pg 77-78 - just measure the arrow lines (have another printout with many types of arrows)
- Coining an illusion - pg 79-80
- More coinage - pg 81-82
Jumble of Bumble
- Introduction - read pag 85
- A new slant on things - pg 86-87 - (provide printout)
- Bending in - pg 88 (provide printout, ruler, marker)
- Warp Seed - pg 89 (provide printout, ruler, marker)
- Upside down - pg 90-91 - (provide printout, cut out face pieces, glue sticks)
- Arch Enemy - pg 92-93 - (provide printout, cut out straight strip)
- Ruler Interference - pg 94 (provide printout, cut out strip or ruler)
- Setting a side aside - pg 95 (provide printout, markers)
- Comparing Colours - pg 96-97 (provide printout, markers)
- Imaginary square - pg 98-99 (provide printout, black circles with cut corner, glue)
- Mosaic madness - pg 100-101 (provide printout)
Illusions of Depth
- Introduction - read pg 102-103
- Dominant View - pg 104
- Come together - pg 105 (provide printout)
- Handy hole in one - pg 106-107 (provide tubes)
- Stereo Pairs - pg 108-110 (tubes and printouts)
- Free Viewing - pg 111-112 (provide printouts and tube)
- Two-Level Float - pg 113 (provide tubes and printout)
- Wallpaper - pg 114-115 (coins or circles and printout)
- Seeing Red... and blue - pg 116-117 (provide printouts and clear red and blue pieces)
- Making Targets - pg 118-119 (printouts and clear red blue pieces)
- A smooth transition - pg 120-121 (printout, clear red and blue pieces)
- 3D Cube - pg 122-124 (printout, clear red and blue pieces)
Free time? Look at Illusions in books and discuss: pg 34 - pencil lengths, pg 135 - Blue Red circles
I have set up all printouts and supplies for the rest of the book. Will try to update this site when I get a chance.
Extra Illusions for fun:
Rotating Face Mask
Triangle Puzzle
Jastrow Illusion
Sine Illusion
Kanizsa's Triangle
Delboeuf Illusion
Dynamic Ebbinghous
Inverted Faces
Cafe Wall Illusion
Bulging Checker Board
Silhouette Illusion
Face in Blocks
Illusions YouTube Channel
Many Spinners etc.
Class 1: Introduction, Illusions of Motion, Hardwired Illusions
Materials needed: white paper, markers, magnifying glass, tape, pencil, printouts, spinning disks on threads, pencil spinner, scissors, pencils, heavy stock paper, ruler, flip books, pencil crayons, black construction paper squares, coloured markers, Spinner with black circles on half,
Introduction:
- Explain how humans decode what we see
- Your biology (your eye, optic nerve, and the incredible system of nerve cells that make up the part of your brain that gathers up what you see) and your experience (you continuously collect a record of the things you've seen and from those memories your mind creates short cuts to help decode what it is you are actually seeing)
- If this didn't work, the person you see down the street you would see as tiny, but in actual fact he is tall. Your mind would have to work through each experience you have as they were all new again. This would be time consuming. This is why your brain creates shortcuts to help you decode quickly.
- Explain what an optical illusion is
- An optical illusion is something that appears different from what it actually is; some can make things look darker, lighter, wider, bigger, straighter, rounder, higher, or lower.
- Other types of viewing tricks can make objects pop out as if they are going to touch you. And others can create the appearance of smooth motion from quickly flipping a stack of paper. The list goes on and on.
- Tell kids what they can expect in this class
Illusions of Motion:
- Read pages 8-9 (leaving out out-dated technology and including computer technology). This explains how fast images flashed before our eyes become movies because our mind takes short cuts to deal with the large amount of information it gets.
- Fan Trails - pg 14-15 (have rolled up papers ready)
- Light the candle and more fun - pg 18-20 (to save time, have the spinning disks on threads set up ahead of time)
- Flights of Imagination - pg 24-25 - (have set up ahead of time to save time)
- Flippin' Fin Fun - pg 32-33 - (create flip books in advanced - pg 31)
- Stencil the Snail - (create flip books in advanced - pg 31, make snail stencil)
- Twist and Turns - (create flip books in advanced - pg 31)
- A Cast of Two (create flip books in advanced - pg 31, print off fish stencils)
** WASHROOM BREAK **
Hard Wired Illusions:
- Introduction on how the eye works - read pages 42-43
- Blind Spot - pg 44-45 (make little strips of paper)
- Where have all the colours gone - pg 46-47
- Field Trip - discuss the phenomenon and ask if it's happened to anyone and explain why it happens
- More Field Work - pg 51 - This one is done outside if it's clear outside. If it isn't, I can offer to do it the next class
- Pump Up the Difference - pg 52-53
- Not Fade Away - pg 54-55
- Colour Code - pg 56-57 (photocopy cans on page 57)
- Pink Pigs - pg 58-59
- A different Spin on colour perception - pg 62-63 - RGB Wheel
Free time? Look at Illusions in books and discuss: pg 11 - spinning spiral,
**CLEAN UP**
Class 2: Distortions of Length and Size, Jumble of Bumble, Illusions of Depth
Materials Needed: 3 sizes of coins or dark circles, toothpicks, paperclips, printouts, rulers, cut out trapezoids, towel rolls cut in half, pencil crayons, white paper
Distortions of Length and Size
- Introduction - read pg 66-67
- Illusionary lengths - pg 68-71 (have printouts of the drawing needed)
- Room for mistakes - pg 72-73 (have printouts ready)
- Tracks of the trade - pg 74-75 (have printouts ready)
- Adding arrow heads - pg 76-77 (have arrow lines ready on printout)
- Rulers don't lie - pg 77-78 - just measure the arrow lines (have another printout with many types of arrows)
- Coining an illusion - pg 79-80
- More coinage - pg 81-82
Jumble of Bumble
- Introduction - read pag 85
- A new slant on things - pg 86-87 - (provide printout)
- Bending in - pg 88 (provide printout, ruler, marker)
- Warp Seed - pg 89 (provide printout, ruler, marker)
- Upside down - pg 90-91 - (provide printout, cut out face pieces, glue sticks)
- Arch Enemy - pg 92-93 - (provide printout, cut out straight strip)
- Ruler Interference - pg 94 (provide printout, cut out strip or ruler)
- Setting a side aside - pg 95 (provide printout, markers)
- Comparing Colours - pg 96-97 (provide printout, markers)
- Imaginary square - pg 98-99 (provide printout, black circles with cut corner, glue)
- Mosaic madness - pg 100-101 (provide printout)
Illusions of Depth
- Introduction - read pg 102-103
- Dominant View - pg 104
- Come together - pg 105 (provide printout)
- Handy hole in one - pg 106-107 (provide tubes)
- Stereo Pairs - pg 108-110 (tubes and printouts)
- Free Viewing - pg 111-112 (provide printouts and tube)
- Two-Level Float - pg 113 (provide tubes and printout)
- Wallpaper - pg 114-115 (coins or circles and printout)
- Seeing Red... and blue - pg 116-117 (provide printouts and clear red and blue pieces)
- Making Targets - pg 118-119 (printouts and clear red blue pieces)
- A smooth transition - pg 120-121 (printout, clear red and blue pieces)
- 3D Cube - pg 122-124 (printout, clear red and blue pieces)
Free time? Look at Illusions in books and discuss: pg 34 - pencil lengths, pg 135 - Blue Red circles
I have set up all printouts and supplies for the rest of the book. Will try to update this site when I get a chance.
Extra Illusions for fun:
Rotating Face Mask
Triangle Puzzle
Jastrow Illusion
Sine Illusion
Kanizsa's Triangle
Delboeuf Illusion
Dynamic Ebbinghous
Inverted Faces
Cafe Wall Illusion
Bulging Checker Board
Silhouette Illusion
Face in Blocks
Illusions YouTube Channel
Many Spinners etc.