A thousand and one hexagons
Have you ever looked into a kaleidoscope (kuh [ly]{.smallcaps} duh
skohp) ? A kaleidoscope is a toy that makes beautiful
designs—thousands and thousands of different designs.
You can make a kaleidoscope for yourself very easily, and it will give
you hours of fun. This kind of kaleidoscope will make designs like
snowflakes, in the shape of a hexagon.
What you will need:
three small, two-sided mirrors, each about 2×3 inches (5×8 centimeters).
Two-sided mirrors work best because there is no trim that will keep the
edges apart transparent tape white glue stiff white paper scraps of
different colored paper scissors
Place the three mirrors on a flat surface. The long edges should be next
to each other, but not quite touching. Cut a length of transparent tape
about as long as the long edge of one mirror. Press the tape down firmly
so that it holds the edges of two of the mirrors together. But be sure
to keep the space between the mirrors. Cut another length of tape and
fasten the other two mirrors together.
Stand the mirrors up. Keeping the taped sides out, fold the two outside
mirrors toward each other. Cut another piece of tape and tape the last
two edges together. Use the scissors to trim off any tape that sticks up
at the top or bottom.
Put a small amount of white glue on the top edges of the mirrors. Don’t
use too much glue.
Set the glued edges on the piece of stiff white paper. After the glue is
dry, trim off any of the paper that sticks out past the edges of the
mirrors. One end of your kaleidoscope is now closed.
Cut the scraps of colored paper into tiny shapes—triangles, squares,
strips, and so on. Make the shapes as small as you can. The more shapes
you have, the better. Drop these paper shapes into the kaleidoscope.
Hold the kaleidoscope so that one of the taped edges is pointed toward
your chest. Tilt the kaleidoscope slightly and tap the sides so that all
the bits of paper collect in the corner facing you. Hold the
kaleidoscope close to one eye and look straight down into it. You’ll see
a lovely six-sided design. You can change the design by turning the
kaleidoscope and getting the bits of paper into another corner.
You see a six-sided shape because you see the corner with the colored
paper plus five reflections. The result is a hexagon.
