Museum to Offer Free Program for Senior Citizens
A thaumatrope is a toy that became very popular during the 19th century. It is a disk with a picture drawn on either side and has strings attached to opposite edges. When the strings are twirled the images on either side appear to blend together. An example of a common thaumatrope picture is an empty cage drawn on one side and a bird drawn on the other. When the thaumatrope is twirled, the bird appears to be in the cage. Thaumatropes were one of a number of simple, mechanical optical toys that used the theory of persistence of vision – phenomenon of the eye when an afterimage is thought to persist for 1/25 of a second on the retina. Thaumatropes are recognized as important precursors to cinematography and in particular of animation.
Program participants will learn about these and other optical illusions. They will also have the opportunity to create an optical illusion on a spinning top. The program will be held at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, August 26th. Reservations are required but the program is free to Seniors.
The program schedule for the remainder of 2014 will be:
September 30th – Sand Art
October 28th – Corn Husk Crafts
November 25th – Thanksgiving
December 16th – Christmas Music & Ornaments
This program is free. Space is limited to 15 participants and reservations are required. Please call the museum at 870-793-2121 to reserve your space!
This humanities program is made possible by local support from Independence County and the City of Batesville, as well as by Challenge Grant Endowment funding from the National Endowment of the Humanities. Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this program do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Old Independence serves a 12-county area: Baxter, Cleburne, Fulton, Independence, Izard, Jackson, Marion, Poinsett, Sharp, Stone, White, and Woodruff. Parts of these present-day counties comprised the original Independence County in 1820s Arkansas territory.
