Did you know that movies are made up of a bunch of still pictures played quickly one after the other? Our brains and eyes work together to create the illusion of movement.
In this activity, become a film director and learn how to make a mini motion picture using a flipbook!
Materials
Sticky notes
Pencil
Instructions
First, draw a ball towards the top of the first page of the sticky note pad.
On the next page, draw a ball that’s slightly lower and a little stretched out. It should look more like an oval than a circle.
Repeat this on the following page drawing your ball a little more stretched and a little lower.
On the next page, draw another ball closer to the bottom.
Draw a squashed ball on the very bottom—it should also look like an oval, but lengthwise.
Now, repeat the process in reverse, moving your ball up and stretching it out with each new page.
When you reach the top again, draw a perfect circle like you did on the very first page. You should end up with 9 drawings in total.
If you flip through your pages very quickly, you should start to see your ball move!
If you want to take this activity further, you can try bouncing your ball off all the sides of the sticky note pad or add color, too.
Reflection
How does the animation change when you flip the pages quickly? How about slowly? How fast do you need to flip the pages in order to make it seem like the ball is really moving?
MetKids is supported by Bloomberg Philanthropies.
