Demos

The House of Illusions is a science museum-style exhibit themed as a haunted house. It was funded by a New York State Section of the American Physical Society Physics Outreach grant. For the event, we constructed a number of demos that demonstrated different classic illusions. The information about each of these demos can be found in the tabs below. We also made use of several pre-built deoms, lent to us by the University of Rochester Physics & Astronomy Department as well as by individual volunteers. These included a Jacob’s Ladder, a Plasma Globe, a Mirror Hologram, and Amusement Park Mirrors. Informations sheets explaining the science concepts demonstrated by the various illusions can also be found below.

Here, you can find the info sheets about various scientific concepts demonstrated by the House of Illusions.

Electricity

Flashing Lights

Luminescence

Magnetism

Perception

Reflection

Tension

The Endless Well is a demo that creates an infinite-seeming reflection. More details can be found within the reflection info sheet. The Endless Well we constructed in heavily based upon the design created by Lawrence Lund. We began with a 2’ x 3’ frameless mirror, and created a frame around it using 2” x 4” boards. This was done by carving a groove along one of the 4” sides of the boards for the mirror to rest upon, and then constructing the frame around the mirror. This process was repeated for a 2’ x 3’ piece of plexiglass, one side of which was covered by one-way mirror film.

For the walls of the well, we used two 2’ x 3’ and two 3’ x 3’ pieces of plywood. One side was painted black for the exterior, the other was painted to look like brickwork for the interior. Adding a pattern helps to add a sense of scale to the illusion when constructed.

The plywood pieces were attached together by gluing 6” pieces of 1” x 2” board into L-brackets, and screwing those brackets to the corners created by the plywood walls. We attached 2 LED strips along the inside of the well, equidistant from each other and the top and bottom, respectively. We used LED strip that can connect to a portable charger, which we taped to the back of the well while in operation.

To assemble the well, the mirror is placed on the floor, the well base on top of that, and then the one-way mirror. Given the height of our well, we provided step stools so that children could see into the well easily. The demo works best in a dimly lit room. We did not secure either of the mirror frames to the well body, both for easier storage and because it allows the presenter to remove the top when explaining the demo to participants, allowing them to more easily see how the demos works.

Under construction

The ghost writing demo made use of phosphorescence to create lingering ghostly images and writing. To create the demo, began by creating a small booth from PVC pipes. We painted a large sheet of plexiglas with several coats of phosphorescent paint, and attached it to one side of the booth. The other sides of the booth, as well as the top, were covered with blackout curtains to restict ambiant light. Within the booth, a volunteer would sit with a UV flashlight and laser pointer. Using the UV light, the volunteer would create glowing shapes on the plexiglass that faded over time.

Under construction

Under construction

Under construction

A scrim is a material often used in theater that appears opaque when lit from the front and transparent when lit from behind. More information can be found in the reflection info sheet. For our scrim, we used cheesecloth. Individual pieces were cut and dyed to form a pattern and were then sewn together onto a second background layer.

A stand was built out of plywood for a volunteer to hide behind to operate the demo. It is enclosed on three sides, with a hole cut out of the front to allow for the scrim, inside a cardboard frame, to be placed in.

A reading lamp was placed facing the scrim from the front. When lit, visitors are unable to see through the scrim. The volunteer behind the stand could turn of the light and turn on a flashlight facing the back of the scrim, allowing visitors to see the constumed volunteer hiding behind the demo.

Under construction

Under construction