Magic Pin Demonstration
What is it?
The Magic Pin Demo illustrates how lenses work.
How do you play?
The students are given an oversized staight pin (2"). They use the pin to punch 6 holes along the edge of a 3x5 card. They then hold the pin in front of their dominant eye and look past it toward a light source, holding the card out in front of their face at about 18".
What do you accomplish?
You show that each of the little holes punched in the 3x5 card actually acts like a lens. Adding a lens into the visual equation causes the pin heads to appear to the brain as upside down. There also appears to be a pin head in each of the holes in the card. Thirdly, all of the pin heads appear black.
What is included in the kit?
- 30 Oversized straight pins 2" in length
- 1 Set of instructions on running the demo
- 1 Set of explanations about why each student sees 6 pinheads, why they are all upside down and why they are all black
How much does it cost?
The kit costs $1.50.
Extra pins cost 35¢ each.
