Homemade Kaleidoscope for Kids

By Lawrence A. Jackson
Updated on November 1, 2022
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by Adobestock/Cubodeluz

Learn to make a homemade kaleidoscope for kids for a fun kaleidoscope craft using PVC pipe and a reflector made from wood.

Ever since 1816, when Sir David Brewster invented the kaleidoscope, this plaything has fascinated people of all ages with its dazzling displays of color and light. Using mirrors to reflect reflections (think about that!), the optical curiosity creates a seemingly infinite variety of symmetrical and geometrical patterns.

But unfortunately, even though these instruments are enjoying something of a resurgence in popularity these days, it’s difficult to find a really well-made kaleidoscope at an affordable price. For the most part, commercial models are either shabbily constructed (the cheap, dime-store variety) or outrageously expensive (the ultra deluxe, handmade, crafts-boutique types).

To avoid having to make a choice between those two unsatisfactory alternatives, I decided to make my own kaleidoscope. A few hours later — after using only scrap (or low-cost) materials and some ordinary hand tools — I’d put together a fine little mirrored viewer that performs just as impressively as most of the better store-bought models. In fact, my creation is superior to them in at least one important way: It’s a dual-optic device. That is, you can use it with bits of colored glass or plastic to create classic kaleidoscopic patterns…or you can point the tube at a 90-degree angle to any object — a bumblebee, a street sign, or whatever — to produce unique designs from the world around you.

Four major components make up my DIY kaleidoscope.

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