This week's challenge is to make an optical illusion!

Optical means to do with our eyes, and optical illusion is where our eyes see something that isn’t really there.

Did you know that cartoons are optical illusions? Traditional cartoons are made up from thousands of individual drawings that are shown so quickly that our brains think the drawings are moving. 

You can make your own version of a cartoon by making a flipbook and drawing one image slightly differently on every page then flipping through them quickly!

Another way you can do this is using the science of refraction which is where light bounces differently through water than it does through air. If you draw an arrow on a piece of paper and then look at it through a glass of water, it seems to change direction but it’s just a trick on our eyes!

I’ve linked some videos below so you can get some ideas but you don’t have to make them exactly the same as mine, just use whatever you can find lying around the house.

Once you have engineered your new invention it’s time to test it!

Can you make your own optical illusion? Can you trick somebody in your house to see something that isn’t really there?

What would you change if you wanted to improve your optical illusion? This is how an inventor thinks, they try something then thinks about how they can make it better!

I can’t wait to see your inventions and discoveries.