Toysmith 3-D Mirascope Hologram Image Maker STEM Toy, Black, 6 inches

Love it and such great conversation piece

This toy is facinating. It is so simple but it creates an extraordinary illusion. I saw one when I was a kid some 20 years ago and thought it was the coolest thing. I told my 10 year old son about it and he bugged me for weeks to order one. There are 2 sizes to choose from. A large one for about $35 or a small one for about $10. I chose the small one with free shipping. Needless to say my son was excited when the package arrived and he was amazed at what he saw. The frog looks absolutely real but your finger goes right through it! You can't see the illusion from every angle though, but when you turn the mirascope to the proper angle it is truly astounding. My son showed it to all his friends in the neighborhood and took it to school to show it off even more. He said they all thought it was really cool and asked him where he got it because they've never seen or heard of such a thing before. If you want to amaze your friends its worth the $10!

It illustrates an otherwise illusive concept - that of a 'virtual image'. The little froggy looks so 'real' - as if you could actually touch it. The limitations are simply the limitations of physics. There is, for instance, a range of angles from which the image is visible. Too shallow, and you simply see over the top; too steep and you peer inside. But the comfortably wide range (approx 45 degrees +/- 20 or so degrees) - it works great. You can substitute small object for the included frog, but it's difficult to find something that is short enough to work without also being so small. The frog is short & wide and that shape tends to work best. My 5 year old granddaughter thought it was pretty cool. We had an enjoyable time with it. The whole apparatus is lightweight, almost flimsy feeling plastic. It's stiff enough to hold it's shape, but that's it. I thought we might leave it sitting out - but not sturdy enough. Plus, it would probably collect dust on the mirrored surfaces, which other reviews indicate are extremely easy to scratch. All in all though, for the price, you get a good science lesson and 'cool factor' for science.

Be very careful when cleaning the mirror surfaces, they are very easily scratched and I ruined mine by just trying to wipe the accumulated dust off the bottom mirror with a cotton cloth! If you need to clean I would recommend using a can of compressed air, you cannot clean anything that requires wiping as the mirror will scratch and affect will be lost. Does what it says and overall worth the price (less than $10). I would rate it higher if it were a bit larger to accommodate some larger objects and if the base was attached to the bottom mirror piece (the small round bottom is a separate piece), it would also be nice if the top mirror somehow locked onto the bottom mirror (maybe like a quarter turn twist to lock or similar). The frog that comes with it is very small but does look cool floating in the air, you cannot use an object that is much larger than the frog that it comes with. It is cool that you can move your finger through the projected object and it doesn't stop you from seeing parts of the object where your finger is not blocking it (unless you have very large fingers that will block the whole object. You have to view the floating object at about a 45 degree angle, if you are looking from the side or more than a 45 degree angle the object will disappear but I cannot fault the product for that since that is just how the mirror reflection works. It is a neat toy for kids and they will be amazed by the floating object.

We bought two Toysmith 3‑D Mirascopes because we were hoping to amplify the floating virtual image using a magnifier lens. Unfortunately, that part didn’t work—the illusion is created by the mirrors, and adding a lens in front doesn’t actually enlarge the hologram. Still, the device itself works exactly as advertised and produces a surprisingly realistic floating image, with a good lighting. Even without the magnifier trick, this little gadget is a perfect prop for the bar. Newcomers—especially the slightly tipsy ones—are completely fascinated by the “floating” object and always try to grab it. It never fails to get a laugh and spark conversation. 👍 Pros Creates a convincing floating 3‑D illusion Simple, durable, and easy to use Great for kids, adults, and party settings Perfect conversation starter for a bar or game room Works with many small objects 👎 Cons The virtual image cannot be magnified with a lens Works best with very small, lightweight items Overall Even though the magnifier experiment didn’t pan out, the Mirascope itself is a fun, clever little illusion maker. It’s inexpensive, entertaining, and always gets a reaction. A great novelty item for both kids and adults. Why the magnifier didn’t work? The Mirascope creates a virtual image using two parabolic mirrors. That image appears to float above the opening, but it isn’t a real, physical point in space—so a magnifying lens has nothing to “grab onto.” Magnifiers only enlarge real images or objects, not virtual ones created by mirror reflections. That’s why the illusion looks real to your eyes but can’t be optically enlarged.

I got this because it looked like fun to mess with. It is and my whole family got a kick out of it. The little frog is not to big, but does need to be put in the middle and a little fine tuning on placement will get it where it needs to be. To enhance the effect and make it look more solid we held a flashlight directly over the opening and it made a very marked difference in quality. The whole toy is made out of plastic so don't be fooled into thinking the reflective service is glass which would be more durable. As long as you use small soft or rubbery objects you should be in good shape to keep this lasting a long time. It is a small toy and the things you put in need to be smaller than you would want, but for us experimenting is part of the joy. For the price this is worth the five stars if it cost $20 I would say don't waste the money it is to cheaply made. For someone who likes science and magic this is a great toy and quite a bit of fun to play with even as a 38 year old child.

It makes for good shelf decor and is very simple to use, its made of light plastic, and balances well

Excelente producto, muy divertido y educativo

As a kid, I saw one of these in a science shop and was absolutely fascinated by it. Today, I'm still fascinated by it! Purchased for a kid, and guess what, that kid was also fascinated by it! This thing is MAGIC. Well...not like real, Wingardium Leviosa magic, but Science Magic. Put an item in the bottom and it reflects to the top opening, and is 3 dimensional. The reflected image is slightly lower contrast but it looks like it is there. You try to grab it with your fingers and there's nothing there. Very very cool! What kid wouldn't like it!? Help get your kids excited in science. Buy them this amazing muggle device then tell them what the purpose of a rubber duck is. Works best with small items like the size of nickel. Comes with a little plastic frog.

Excellent. We can explain about Parabola, conic sections, hologram etc!! Children will enjoy. Every house and school should buy .

以前、子供に見せてやろうとアーテックの商品を買ったのですが、鏡面が曇っていてまともに結像すら出来ないような粗悪品でガッカリしたことがありました。 今度こそはと、こちらを購入したんですが、これはキレイに結像してちゃんと立体に見えました。見る角度によっては像が少しゆがんでしまいますが、まぁこの値段なら仕方ないでしょう。子供も喜んでくれたのでホッとしています。 上下分離しますので、下だけ使って凹面鏡の実験もいろいろ出来ます。実像・虚像の出来具合とか、凸レンズとの相違点とか調べてみるのも楽しいですよ。 ちなみに、「カエルのフィギュア」は入っていましたが、「自由収納袋」は入っていませんでした。本来なら星－１ですが、キレイに結像してくれましたのでオマケの星５個です。

学校の理科の授業で、鏡の学習で使いました。授業の良いアクセントになりました。