Thaumotropes And Phenakistoscopes

Easier to make than to pronounce!, join the half term activity table to have a go at making these simple early animation toys.

A thaumatrope (or “woinder tuner”) is a toy that was popular in Victorian times where a disk with a picture on each side is attached to two pieces of string. When the strings are twirled quickly between the fingers the two pictures appear to combine into a single image.

The phenakistoscope (or magic disc)...is a disk attached vertically to a handle with a series of drawings around its center and slits on its edge. When it is spun around, you look in the mirror though the slits and see what appears to be a moving image