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Different Thaumatrope Ideas for Your Kids

By Shreya PatroJuly 07, 2022
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Find Ideas to Make Thaumatropes at Home

Are you tired of buying new toys for your kids? If yes, then here is an idea you can consider as an alternative. Rather than buying something new every time, try to make something for them using the DIY tricks. Of course, it may be time-consuming, but we assure you that if you start making toys at home with your children, you will enjoy the time you spend on them. So, what should you try first?


Thaumatrope is one of the many toys you can make for your kids. In this article, we have given you some thaumatrope ideas and discussed how to make a thaumatrope at home.


What is a Thaumatrope?


thaumatropes ideas


Thaumatropes ideas


Thaumatrope is an old and groovy toy that helps kids persist in their vision. If a child spins it in his palm, the child can see the two sides of the thaumatrope, making the different paintings of the two sides visible. It is one of the toys with a fine blending of art and science. Thaumatrope is not usually of one type. You can find many ideas of how to make a thaumatrope, or you can implement your idea to make one for your kid.


How to Make a Thaumatrope

Required Materials

  • Card stock

  • Scissors

  • Straw or chopstick

  • Any round-shaped container or anything that has a round edge

  • Marker

  • Pencil

  • Double-sided tape


Method of Making a Thaumatrope for Kids

  • Firstly, take the card stock and place a round-shaped container on it.

  • Use a marker or pencil to draw two circles on the card stock.

  • Take your scissors and make a hole in the card stock.

  • Now, cut two identical circles from the card stock.

  • On the circular pieces of the card stock, draw two pictures of your choice. However, ensure that the two pictures you choose should be relevant to each other. For example, you can draw a flower pot on one side and a flower on the other.

  • The most important step to make a good thaumatrope is to align the pictures of both sides. To do that, stack the paper circle and press the outline of the first image hard so you can get the impression of the first picture on the other side.

  • Cut a piece of double-sided tape with scissors.

  • Stick the first paper circle after sticking the double-sided tape.

  • Then attach the second piece of tape and place the other paper circle on it.

  • Now spin the thaumatrope by holding it between your palms and see the magic.


Thaumatrope Ideas for Halloween

Now that you know how to make a thaumatrope, it is important to explore some ideas to make one. There are plenty of thaumatrope ideas, but we shall only discuss the easy thaumatrope ideas so you can make them as simple as possible.


One of the easiest thaumatrope ideas is to make Halloween thaumatrope for your kids. You can make a beautiful Halloween thaumatrope with just two circular pieces of card stock, scissors, a pencil, and crayon colours. You can use a straw or chopstick to spin it or a string to spin it if you want.


If you have watched ‘Sleepy Hollow’ you must know about cage and bird optical illusion. It can be one of the best thaumatrope examples for you. Just draw a cage on one side of the card stock and a bird on the other. Then use your punch hole to make four holes, two holes on each card stock. Pass a string after using double-sided tape to attach the two cardstock. You are good to go. So, are you looking for a pocket-friendly toy to give your kids? Making an emoji thaumatrope is a great idea.


There are a large number of emojis you can find on your Whatsapp or the internet. Choose the ones of your choice and draw them on the cardstocks after cutting them in a circular shape. This time, instead of twine, you can use colourful straws to help your kids spin the thaumatrope. It is one of the best and easiest thaumatrope examples that you can make within a short period.


Halloween thaumatropes ideas


Halloween thaumatropes ideas


You can also make your child a Harry and the Dirty dog thaumatrope. It is one of the easy thaumatrope ideas. Of course, to make this thaumatrope, you need to download the Harry and the dirty dog thaumatrope printable and make the thaumatrope just like any other thaumatrope. You can also use a colourful straw to spin the thaumatrope. If you think the print is too white, you can tell your kids to paint something on the outline to make it more colourful.


Eye thaumatrope is also a very creative way to make a thaumatrope. Unlike other thaumatropes, it looks more artistic and different. The only thing that takes time is to draw the eyes.


Other than that, the process of making an eye thaumatrope is easy. One only needs to explain thaumatrope ideas clearly. Draw an open eye with a pencil on one side and a closed eye on the other. When you spin the thaumatrope in your hand, it looks like the eye is open once and closed a second after.


Conclusion

It is not easy to satisfy children, especially with toys. Their desire grows daily, and once you buy a toy for them, it gets old a little faster than you like. So, you can make handmade toys for your kids. It saves the time of going to a shop and spending money on a toy. But make sure you choose to make easy toys for your kids. So, try making a thaumatrope for them.


It does not take much time, and most of its materials are either available at your home. There are many templates you can find on the internet to make a perfect thaumatrope, or you can also work on some new ideas to make one.