Phenakistoscope
A phenakistoscope is a precursor to a zoetrope. Stand in front of a mirror and spin this disk. Look through the slits to see an animation of a galloping horse in the mirror.
Steps
- Glue the template onto boxboard using a glue stick or spray adhesive.
- Cut out the disk and using a craft knife, cut out the slots.
- Push a pushpin through the cross and into the eraser on a pencil.
Hold the phenakistoscope facing a mirror and spin the disk. Look through the slots at the image of the horses reflected in the mirror.
Notes
- Joseph Plateau and Simon von Stampfer invented the phenakistoscope independently in 1832 a couple of years before William George Horner developed the zoetrope.
- Notice that some parts of the design in the center of the disk rotate clockwise and some rotate counterclockwise. This is because one part of the design is a pattern of 13 repeating shapes and the other is a pattern with 11 shapes. Since there are 12 slots, the patterns are shifted each time you view them through a slot.
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