
wand kaleidoscopes, with a movable transparent sealed tube containing liquid showing sinking and/or floating objects (usually including glitter) past the end of the reflectors, were introduced in 1990.object cells have been filled with a viscous liquid so the items float and move gracefully through the object cell in response to slight movements from the viewer.A few of these added elements that were not previously described by inventor David Brewster: Manufacturers and artists have created kaleidoscopes with a wide variety of materials and in many shapes. Interactive exhibit modules enabled visitors to better understand and appreciate how kaleidoscopes function. In 1987, kaleidoscope artist Thea Marshall, working with the Willamette Science and Technology Center, a science museum located in the Eugene, Oregon, designed and constructed a 1,000 square foot traveling mathematics and science exhibition, "Kaleidoscopes: Reflections of Science and Art." The exhibition appeared in 15 science museums over a three year period, reaching more than one million visitors in the United States and Canada. However, a fault in his patent application allowed others to copy it. Brewster believed he would make money from the kaleidoscope. Carpenter agreed.Īt first, the kaleidoscope was meant to be a scientific tool. On, he asked Carpenter to allow them to be made by other manufacturers. Brewster knew that the company could not make as many kaleidoscopes as people wanted. Two hundred thousand kaleidoscopes were sold in London and Paris in just three months. In 1817, Brewster chose the well-known lens developer Philip Carpenter to be the only manufacturer of the kaleidoscope.

His first design was a tube with pairs of mirrors at one end, pairs of translucent disks at the other, and beads between the two. The kaleidoscope was not patented until two years later. At that time, he was doing experiments on light polarization. In 1815, Sir David Brewster began work that led to the invention of the kaleidoscope. David Brewster, British physicist, mathematician, scientist, inventor and writer
