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How to Make a Moving Picture Viewer

Back before there were movies, there were moving picture viewers, or zoetropes. Francis Ford Coppola named his infamous literary magazine and movie company after these machines (American Zoetrope). More than a century later, however, these moving picture viewers still make a great craft for rainy afternoons to keep kids entertained -- or even to demonstrate how early moving pictures worked for adults.

Things You'll Need

10-inch diameter empty ice cream container
Lazy Susan
Wood circle, 10-inch diameter
Drill
Screws
White and black paint
Paper
Scissors
Pencils
Pens or markers

Instructions

- 1
  Space slots around the side of your ice-cream bucket cylinder. Space them evenly so that there are twelve slits around the outside of the cylinder. They should be about halfway up the cylinder.
- 2
  Cut the slots. You can use a matte knife for this, an Exact-o knife, or even a pair of open scissors. These slots should be very narrow, no more than 3/16th-inches wide, and be vertical.
- 3
  Paint the outside of the carton black. Make sure the paint is matte. Paint the inside white. Let dry.
- 4
  Cut a piece of wood the size of the lazy Susan top. Center it on the lazy Susan and mark three places to drill holes into the wood; one in the center, and one on either side. Screw the wood into the lazy Susan using a drill, then using nuts, bolts, and lock washers, screw the ice cream carton into the lazy wood/wood combination base.
- 5
  Cut paper slips the size of the inner circumference of the ice cream container, no wider than the space between the very bottom of the carton and the slits you have made. Make each strip 12 frames.
- 6
  Draw 12 pictures in pencil of whatever you want to illustrate on the paper. Remember that this is an early form of animation, and you should make each one not too different from the previous for the best result.
- 7
  Trace the drawings over in dark marker or pen.
- 8
  Paste the paper into the inside of the carton using glue. Let dry.
- 9
  Spin your new zoetrope to see a motion picture machine in action.

Educational Toys