Academy Curricular Exchange
Columbia Education Center
Science

TITLE:  HOW TO MAKE A KALEIDOSCOPE
        (DEMONSTRATING LIGHT PROPERTIES)

AUTHOR:  Gerald Watson, McKinley Middle; Coffeyville, KS

GRADE LEVEL:  6

MATERIALS:
two film cannisters, one clear, one dark
four plastic microscope slides
colored plastic beads
silver colored mylar (needs to be able to reflect light)
     old)
helium balloons, or we used a Lay potato chip bag
glue
knife

ACTIVITIES AND PROCEDURES:
1.  Cut the bottom off of the dark film cannister.
2.  Cut a 1/4 inch hole in the center of the lid.
3.  In the clear cannister cut a slot 1/3 inch from the
    bottom.
    Make the cut big enough to place the end section of a
    slide into the cannister to hold the colored beads.
4.  Cut out reflective mylar to cover the three remaining
    slides.
5.  Glue mylar strips to the slides.
6.  Place slides inside the dark cannister so they make a
    triangle inside the cannister with the reflective
    surfaces facing inside the triangle.
7.  Slide the clear cannister (with beads) on the slides
    in the dark cannister, the clear should overlap the
    dark cannister so light does not leak in where the
    two join.

Rotate the kaleidoscope while looking through the hole in
the lid of the dark cannister.  Looking at a light helps.  I
use this activity when we study light properties.

Click here to return to OFCN's Academy Curricular Exchange

Click here to return to OFCN's Academy
Click here to return to OFCN's Main Menu