The wand kaleidoscope is the lava lamp version of one of the world's oldest optical toys. Like standard kaleidoscopes it has a tube containing mirrors, coloured glass, or paper which create patterns when lifted to the eye and rotated.
Our 15cm wand kaleidoscope is a twentieth century development of the regular kaleidoscope. When held to the eye, the viewer sees a world of hearts, stars and moons. The wand is filled with a coloured floaty gel which seems to suspend the shapes. When the wand is pulled in and out, and twirled, a myriad of floaty forms drift in front of your eye - similar to a lava lamp.
The word 'kaleidoscope' is from the Greek meaning 'watcher of beautiful forms'. Kaleidoscopes as we know them were first patented by Scottish science prodigy Sir David Brewster in 1817. This was exactly 150 years before the Beatles sang of "the girl with kaleidoscope eyes" on their Sergeant Peppers album. It could be a useful soundtrack for this particular kaleidoscope.
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