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The Makery

How did people send each other messages when there was no telephone? How was the first animated film made? And how can you use reflections to make a 3D projection? Find out this summer at The Makery. For The Makery, three 19th-century inventions have been given a modern twist.

  • 5 July to 31 August
  • All ages

Three special workshops

Send a secret message, create a short film or make your own 'ghost' appear.

  • Play with reflections

    You generally use a mirror to look at yourself. But did you know that you can also use reflections to do all kinds of experiments? Play with reflections and make your own 'ghost' appear.

  • Speak in code

    Using short and long signals and the Morse code alphabet, you can make letters to send messages to each other. You can even operate a train using Morse code!

  • Make a short film

    Your brain merges several images when you see them in very quick succession: they appear to move. Try it yourself! Using a special spinning cylinder with vertical cuts, the zoetrope, and lots of drawings, you can make your own short film.

Zoetrope Octomadness

Octomadness is a special life-size zoetrope: a rotating installation with 3D printed and hand-painted figures. The figures on the spinning cylinder do something slightly different each time. When it spins and the strobe light comes on, the figures seem to come alive. You can see a dancing octopus and other crazy creatures moving as if it were an animated film.