Creative Classroom: Kaleidoscope

To end our unit on colors and rainbows, we made our own kaleidoscopes. While this is fun to do and looks cool, the kids informed me that it was not a "real kaleidoscope." So, take it for what it is and have fun looking at the world through a new lens.

OK, let's get started!
Materials needed: plastic wrap (we used purple because that is all I had for some reason), seed beads, toilet paper roll, rubber band, scissors

Step 1: Tear off a rectangle of plastic wrap. Carefully put several pinches of seed beads in a little pile on the plastic wrap.
Step 2: Gather all the beads together. Fold the plastic wrap over the beads so you have a bead sandwich. Put the toilet paper roll over the beads.
Step 3: Gather the plastic wrap up over the toilet paper roll.
Step 4: Secure the plastic wrap with a rubber band.
Step 5: Trim excess plastic wrap. Some kids opted to just fold it down or leave it as is.
Step 6. Hold a little away from your eye, look up, and turn your kaleidoscope. You won't see any real patterns, but when you take them outside and look up, the beads look cool in the sky.

You might want to check out these instructions from National Geographic Kids which takes the project a step further. Thanks to Mrs. Howie for giving us the idea!