This is one of the 48 projects for our Instructables: Made In Your Mind (IMIYM) exhibition at the Children’s Museum of Houston showing from May 26, 2012 - November 4, 2012. Produced in partnership with Instructables, IMIYM is an exhibit where families work together to build different fun, toy-like projects that help construct knowledge and skills related to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics while instilling a “do-it-yourself” attitude in kids so they feel empowered to explore, tinker, and try to make things themselves. To learn more, check out the article here.
For this project, we were inspired by the Zoetrope Instructable created by Howtoons, but there may be others on Instructables that are also similar. Often, the materials and process for building our projects are designed for use with a large number of visitors (we see over 800,000 annually) and the need to ensure safety in a mostly non-facilitated environment. So, yes, many of these projects have room for improvement in both materials and methodology, which is PRECISELY what we want to encourage the kids to do. So please do share your ideas for improvement and modifications!
Step 1: What You Need
- 1 – Zoetrope Template (I've included two versions below - one has a galloping horse and the other is a blank to create your own after you've created the galloping horse)
- 1 - Chopstick (easiest place to get them is with some Chinese take-out. However, we purchase ours in bulk from Asian Food Grocer)
- 2 – 1/8” x 1” Zinc plated fender washers (available at most hardware stores - we buy ours through Home Depot online)
- 1 - CD
Step 2: The Video
Step 3: Step 1 - Preparing the Strip
Step 4: Step 2 - Putting the Strip Together
Step 5: Step 3 - Assembling the Zoetrope
Step 6: To Use...
The images in the animation strip appear to move when you spin the chopstick because of persistence of vision. When you look at the image through the slit, your eye retains that image for a fraction of a second after you’ve moved on to the next image. Your brain merges this image with the next one. So, as you spin the Zoetrope, the images will appear to blend and give the appearance of movement. This is similar to how flip books, televisions, and even movies work.
Now see if you can make your own Zoetrope using the blank template!