Jake de la pena

Melia Schaefer
Charlie Plamondon
Per. 4 / Physics
Ms. Sparrow
04/12/2015
Build a Toy- Kaleidoscope
A. The idea for the toy:
a. One day we were sitting in class by Jake and
Melias desk, we were just casually talking, Melia glanced over
to the mirror because it caught her eye and she said we should
involve mirrors and explain the refraction of the light rays off of
a mirror Charlie and Jake agreed and said that it was a good
idea, then Melia brought up the idea of a kaleidoscope and we
all thought it was a great idea. Later on we went to Mrs. Kites
room and she helped us figure out the design of the
kaleidoscopes.
B. The mirror images produced from the 3 mirrors that reflect off of
each other to create refraction. Since the mirrors are so close
together little triangle images are produced from the reflection of the
plane mirrors. This creates a easy way to learn about refraction of
mirrors and how reflection can cause interesting images to see.
C. While we were building the toy we ran into only a few problems:
a. How to form the triangular prism shape; When we
were building the kaleidoscope we had trouble making/keeping
the shape we wanted with the mirror. We ended up using tape,
to hold the mirrors form, and then hot glue to permanently keep
the prism shape.
b. We also had trouble figuring out how to make it look
pretty and keep it safe (edged are somewhat sharp). We
decided to wrap the kaleidoscope (mirrors) in foam sheets that
1) make it colorful and 2) protect your eyes from the edges.
D. Parts Involved:
a. Mirror-$10.00 (for an 8 x 8 mirror)
b. Foam sheets-$0.03 (8 x 11)
c. Hot glue sticks-$0.05 (1 stick of glue)

i.

Tools Required:
1. Hot glue gun
2. Scotch tape
3. Glass cutter

E. Instructions
a. Assemble:
i.
Cut mirrors into (8 x 1)x6 and (8 x
)x3 strips
ii. Tape the 3 mirrors together to form a
triangular shape.
iii. Glue the edges together with hot glue.
iv. Wrap (8 x 11) foam sheet around
the triangular prism (mirrors) using hot glue.
b. Operate:
i. Hold kaleidoscope to eye
ii. Point in desired direction
iii. Spin (optional) and/or move around to
desired point.
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Diagram: