Institute of ImaginationRobot LabRobot Lab
Build a body

Kaleidoscope boxes

Tape card squares and triangles into a cube or a pyramid, and give it coloured windows that the light shines through, or line it with mirror card to make a kaleidoscope.

  • About 45 minutes
  • 8 steps
Step by step

One step at a time, in big writing.

A cardboard cube with a big round window in its front, a ring of small holes in its top and pink and blue pieces of cellophane on its side

Before you start

What you need

Tools

To print

Materials

Make it

The steps

Every side is 12cm, so any square fits next to any triangle.

How it works

Squares and triangles laid flat, edge to edge, make a net. Fold it up and tape the edges, and it becomes a 3D shape. Light comes through each window in that window's colour. Shiny card inside bounces the light back and forth, so a few sequins look like a whole pattern: that is a kaleidoscope.

Six card squares laid out flat as a cross, each with a coloured window, folded along the joins into a cube. Light shines into the cube and comes out of the front window in that window's colour.

  1. Six squares laid out flat as a cross, folded along the joins into a cube

    Lay out the net

    Use 6 squares for a cube or 4 triangles for a pyramid. Lay them flat, with the side you want on the outside facing up, each touching the next along a whole edge. For a cube, try a cross.

  2. A pencil pushed down through a piece of card into a lump of Blu Tack underneath; then, seen from above, the point of the scissors in the pencil hole and a dashed circle round it where the window is cut out

    Make the windows

    While the pieces are flat, lay one on the Blu Tack and push the pencil through the middle. Put your scissors in the hole and cut a window about 5cm across in a square, or 3cm in a triangle. Leave at least 2cm of card all round. Cut windows in as many pieces as you like.

  3. Three flat card pieces, each with one round window: two covered with a square of coloured cellophane a little bigger than the window, one blue and one pink, and a yellow square being pressed onto the third

    Cover the windows

    Rub glue round each window, on the side facing up. Press on cellophane or tissue paper, a different colour for each window.

  4. A kaleidoscope: a tall cardboard triangle tube standing on end, with shiny and coloured pieces under a clear cover on top

    Line it with mirror card, for a kaleidoscope

    This step is optional. Glue mirror card or kitchen foil, shiny side up, on every piece except round the windows. Cover one window with clear cellophane, lay sequins or confetti on it and tape a second clear piece over them. In the opposite piece, make one small pencil hole to look through.

  5. Two card squares flat with a skewer in the gap and tape over it; then the same two squares folded along the tape

    Tape the hinges

    Lay the skewer in the gap between two pieces. Tape over it, pressing onto both pieces, then pull the skewer out. That small gap lets them fold. Do this at every join.

  6. Four triangles laid out flat as one big triangle, folded along the joins into a pyramid

    Fold it up

    Turn the net tape side down and fold the pieces up until their edges meet. Tape one pair of edges at a time until it closes. To light it inside, leave three edges of the last face untaped as a lid. Are all the other edges taped?

  7. A cardboard cube with a finger torch inside, glowing blue through the round window in its front

    Light it up

    Hold your shape up to a bright window or lamp. Or put a finger torch inside, switch it on and close the lid. Which window lets the most light through?

  8. Three card shapes on a table: a cube with a purple window, a pyramid with a blue window, and a triangle tube with shiny pieces under a clear end

    Invent your own shape

    Invent your own 3D shape, mixing squares and triangles, or one for your robot's head. How many faces does it need to close?

After the steps

Use it on your robot

Make your robot's head from a cube with two windows for eyes, each a different colour. Put a finger torch inside, and the eyes glow.

For ideas

  • A cardboard pyramid of 4 triangles with small round holes in one face, some of them covered in shiny film
  • A cardboard cube taped with brown paper tape, with a pink tissue paper window in its front and a grid of small holes in its top
  • A cardboard cube with a star-shaped window in one face, a round window in the next, and shiny blue film on top

Your turn

Ideas to try

Make something else

  • A robot headwith coloured windows for eyes and small holes for a mouth.
  • A lanternfrom a pyramid with a window in every face.
  • A tentfrom 2 triangles and 3 squares.
  • A double pyramidfrom 8 triangles.

Then change something

  1. Close a finger torch inside your shape. Where does the coloured light land on the wall?
  2. Cover one window in tissue paper and one in cellophane. Which glows more softly?
  3. Make lots of small pencil holes instead of one big window. What pattern does the light make?
  4. Tape a pyramid on top of a cube. Does it look like a robot?

iOi challenge

Make a robot head whose eyes glow and whose mouth makes a pattern on the wall, lit by one torch inside.

More to make

  • Build a body

    Make it roll!

    Tape the head onto a box with wheels, and your robot rolls.

    • About 40 minutes
  • Build a body

    Matchbox automata

    Put a small cube head on the crank, and it bobs when you turn the handle.

    • About 45 minutes