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MAKE & CREATE

CREATIVE PLAY BLOG

Craft

How to make a Kaleidoscope

May 1, 2019

DIY Kaleidoscope

To make your own kaleidoscope is not as tricky as it may seem. Most things you need you can probably find around the house. The only thing we were missing was the mirror film, we tried to use regular aluminum foil but it was not reflective enough, so I had to buy it in a craft store. But for the rest… The paper roll, the plastic pieces and the cardboard were found in the trash. It is fun to teach the kids how to upcycle our trash to toys.

For Ellas 5th birthday party we had a space themed party and all the kids got to make their own kaleidoscope. It was a good party activity as it made the kids sit down and slow down a bit. Plus it was fun to see their reaction when they discovered that they made something so cool themselves to take home.

You need:

  • Empty paper towel roll
  • 1 round piece of cardboard
  • 2 round pieces of transparent plastic
  • Mirror film/plastic
  • Ruler
  • Scalpel
  • Colored beads (transparent)
  • Colored paper tape
  • Transparent tape

Fold the mirrors facing inwards and secure with some tape. Put inside the paper roll.
We made the mirror film 1 cm shorter than the roll, creating some space to put the beads. Here you tape the plastic film
Fill with beads. It is important that the beads are a little bit transparent to get the kaleidoscope effect.
Put the other piece of plastic as a lid. Here I cut it like a “sun” creating small pieces to fold down to tape around.
On the other end…Make a hole in the round cardboard piece and tape it to the end (if you have small kids you probably have to make the hole a bit larger for them to be able to see)
Decorate with paper tape or colored paper or stickers…
Done!

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About

This is a creative blog, to inspire others to make stuff and be creative with your kids. Trying not to get too caught up in the material consumer world and with a childlike playfulness explore play in a more creative way with a sustainable mindset. Don´t focus too much on the product, the end result, sometimes its about the journey itself. Dare to explore, to reuse, to try again, to fail and to have fun!  – Sofie

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