A brief history of
-the experience
Hallmark began recycling paper way back in the 1940s! In the late 1960s, the idea for
Kaleidoscope was conceived by Donald J. Hall, son of Hallmark’s founder, J.C. Hall.
After seeing the joy and value his then young children had creating with
simple materials he would bring home from Hallmark manufacturing,
Mr. Hall envisioned a place where all children could experience the
same creative benefit. He commissioned an art educator and a
Hallmark artist to design a prototype facility for his idea and
Kaleidoscope was born!
Kaleidoscope started as a traveling exhibit. In its first 5 years, the exhibit toured 150
cities and was enjoyed by nearly 500,000 young artists. Due to its success, a permanent
Kaleidoscope exhibit opened its doors in 1975 at Hallmark headquarters.
Twenty years after opening, the Crown Center Kaleidoscope underwent a major
renovation that allowed children to explore and create in specially-themed areas. And
in the almost twenty years since, Kaleidoscope has added new experiences, including
watercolor painting, Glow-Doodle, submarine dance buttons and a digital kaleidoscope!
Over the years hundreds of tons of materials from Hallmark’s manufacturing plants
have been transformed into amazing art by nearly 8 million artists!
Why is it called Kaleidoscope?
When thinking of what to call this magical experience, the developers looked for a
word that would describe a colorful, ever-changing place; a place that welcomed
ever-changing generations of children to create using ever-changing materials from
Hallmark ... Kaleidoscope fit just right!
A brief history of kaleidoscopes
- the toy
Kaleidoscopes were invented in 1816 by Scottish inventor, David Brewster.
As he was studying physics and light he happened to look at some objects at
the end of two mirrors. When he saw the patterns and colors in their
different arrangements, he saw a possibility for a new invention.
Brewster’s kaleidoscopes were copied by many people when they, too, saw the beauty in
this new art form. Charles Bush is known for bringing the kaleidoscope to the United
States in the 1870s.
Why are they called Kaleidoscopes?
Brewster named his invention after the greek word, kalos, meaning “beautiful,” the greek
word, eodos, meaning “shape” and the greek word scopeo, meaning “to look at”.
Why do kaleidoscopes do what they do?
Light travels in a straight line through empty space, but
when it bumps into an object, it changes direction. Some
shiny surfaces, like a mirror, reflect light back to you.
The mirror sides of the tube inside the kaleidoscope
reflect the translucent gems (or whatever
is in your kaleidoscope) and those reflections
bounce back and forth from side to side
creating multiple images. When you turn the
kaleidoscope, the pieces move and you see
different designs.
Make your own kaleidoscope!
What to get:
*tall potato chip can
*scissors, tape and ruler
*8 x 7 inch square silver poster paper
*clear acetate (a Christmas card box lid works well)
*thin, flexible cardboard or tagboard for a spacer strip
approximately 9 inches long x 1/4 inch wide
*Hallmark stickers and wrapping paper
*translucent acrylic mosaic gems
What to do:
1. Turn the can upside down and use the scissors to puncture an eyehole
in the center of the metal end.
2. Decorate the outside of the can with wrapping paper.
3. Use the ruler and scissors to score (don’t cut) the length of the
rectangle at 2 1/3” and 4 2/3” on its non-reflective side into three
hinged mirrors.
4. Fold the hinged mirrors into a triangle prism, with the reflective side
on the inside. Use tape or stickers to hold in place.
5. Fit the triangular prism into the can.
6. Cut a circle from the clear acetate precisely the size of the can opening.
7. Lay the circle on top of the triangular prism.
8. Line the inside of the can between the acetate circle and the top rim of
the can with the cardboard spacer strip, joining the ends with a piece of tape.
9. Fill the upper compartment about half full with the gemstones or other
translucent items and put on the plastic lid from the potato chip can.
10. Hold the kaleidoscope up to the light, look into the eyehole and slowly
rotate the can. The three mirrors will symmetrically reflect the objects
under the lid and produce the kaleidoscope effect.