How to Make a Cardboard Whirligig
Colonial kids would have put a button whirligig together on a rainy New England day to stave off boredom. Almost two centuries later, an astronomer and a physicist both became fascinated with a similar toy, called "the thaumatrope." Both toys rely on what's called "persistence of vision," which is your eye's tendency to keep an image for a split-second. You can build both toys and see how they work and how they are related.
Things You'll Need
- Plastic yogurt cup lid
- Pencil
- Cardboard
- Sheet of paper
- Glue stick
- Crayons or markers
- String
- Hole Puncher
Instructions
-
Whirligig
-
1
Glue the piece of paper onto the cardboard. Apply the glue liberally.
-
2
Trace the yogurt lid onto the cardboard with a pencil. Lightly draw a line across the diameter of the circle.
-
-
3
Cut out the cardboard circle. Punch two holes on the diameter line, about a quarter of an inch from the center.
-
4
Decorate the front of the circle. Put any kind of design, such as a color wheel or a spiral on it. Feel free to decorate the back as well, you may want to cover it with a piece of paper as well for a cleaner surface.
-
5
Cut a loop of string to about four feet in length. String one end each hole and tie them together.
-
6
Test out your whirligig. Hold an end of the string in either hand, between the thumb and forefinger. Twist the strings up and let the whirligig spin in the middle. Watch the designs you've drawn, and you'll notice that they look different now.
Thaumatropes
-
7
Paste a piece of paper to both sides of a piece of cardboard, using the glue stick liberally.
-
8
Trace the yogurt lid on the paper and lightly draw the diameter on one side.
-
9
Cut the cardboard circle out and punch a hole about a quarter inch from the edges, on the diameter.
-
10
On the center of one side, draw a picture, such as a fish or a bird. On the other side, draw another picture that is related, such as a fishbowl or a birdcage. These should be positioned such that they would line up if the two images were on the same side.
-
11
Cut two one-foot long pieces of string. Poke one piece of string through each hole, and tie the strings together.
-
12
To play with the toy, hold a string in each hand between the thumb and forefinger. Twist the strings so the cardboard spins, and watch the picture: It will look like one is inside the other.
-
1
Tips & Warnings
Experiment with the designs on your toys. As you get more comfortable with the toys, you will come up with more and more interesting patterns for them. Try changing the shape of the cardboard circles a little and seeing what happens. For example, a rectangular thaumatrope will give you more room to draw, and a saw-shaped whirligig might make some noise.
