Crayon Kaleidoscopes 

Third grade students learned about symmetry and mirrors during the creation of these crazy colored kaleidoscopes.  We began this unit by using mirrors to understand how kaleidoscopes create repeating images.  I taped three floor-length mirrors together, creating a giant kaleidoscope that each student could stand at the end of.  The students loved being able to see multiples of themselves and their friends through this tunnel of mirrors.

After experimenting with the kaleidoscopes in the art room, each student used crayons to design a radially symmetrical image, like what might be seen at the end of a series of mirrors.  Students designed a 1/8th section of their paper and outlined carefully with crayon.  They then folded their paper over and rubbed the back of the page to transfer this design to all of their remaining sections of paper.  Once all areas of the paper were outlined, students used brightly colored crayons to color in the rest of the paper.

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