19th Century Toys (Lesson 1)

Our first field trip this year will be to the Barton House. All gifted students in K-8 grade are invited to join us for this event. Please contact me via my school email if your student did not bring home a permission slip!

As we prepare to do this living history event, students are studying life in America around 1855. Today's lesson involved making a toy from back then, the thaumatrope. A thaumatrope is a toy that was popular in the 19th century. A disk with a picture on each side is attached to two pieces of string. When the strings are twirled quickly between the fingers the two pictures appear to blend into one due to the persistence of vision.   Examples of common thaumatrope pictures include a bare tree on one side of the disk, and its leaves on the other, or a bird on one side and a cage on the other. They often also included riddles or short poems, with one line on each side. Thaumatropes were one of a number of simple, mechanical optical toys that used persistence of vision.

Students will be teaching children visiting the fairgrounds how to make these fun toys!

Lesson Extensions:
Animation in Cave Art?
Persistence of Vision