University of Minnesota
Beautiful Brain: Do You See What I See?
Can art play tricks on your eyes, and can a still painting really appear to vibrate? The second lesson in a four-part series discusses the way our beautiful brains translate visual images. It highlights the style of optical art and...
Curated OER
A Change of Scene
Students create their own optical illusions by making something look big and then changing what's around it to make it look little.
Curated OER
A Change of Scene
Students are challenged to create optical illusions using using cut-outs. The activity provokes thoughtful discussion about scale.
Exploratorium
Cardboard Tube Syllabus
Construct paper tubes and then try out a few optical illusion tricks:
See a virtual hole in your own hand
Get a grasp of how the eyes combine images
Notice that one eye is dominant over the other
Reveal how your eyes adjust to...
Curated OER
Would You Believe Your Eyes?
Students study the parts and functions of the human eye. They create dodecagons which are twelve-sided figures with twelve equal angles and share these with the class so that each student can begin to see how many different illusions can...
Science Struck
Science Struck: History of Optical Illusions
Discover the philosophers and scientists who studied optical illusions and some of the techniques used to create the illusions.
TED Talks
Ted: Ted Ed: The Mathematics of Sidewalk Illusions
Have you ever come across an oddly stretched image on the sidewalk, only to find that it looks remarkably realistic if you stand in exactly the right spot? These sidewalk illusions employ a technique called anamorphosis- a special case...
Other
Color Matters
Students learn to understand color from a variety of perspectives: physiology, psychology, philosophy, and art.