Kaleidoscope Projector

I had always wanted to make kaleidoscopes that could be enjoyed my a group as typically they are very individual experiences. Awe inspiring moments are much more impactful for me when enjoying them with others. In the latter end of 2023 I played around with optical lenses, mirrors and light sources to hone in on how to make this a reality.

For Playa del Fuego 2024 my good friend Abe Rosenthal made for us this spectacular life-sized 3 horse effigy in homage to the burn's roots. He tasked me with lighting up the effigy at night, and I thought the kaleidoscope projector concept would give these horses some life.

I wanted the kaleidoscopes to be constantly moving, so I designed a mechanism that uses a motor to turn a liquid cell that contains the semi-transparent colored beads that would be projected. It was important to use a low RPM motor to produce a slower changing effect (and a gear speed reducer). A high powered LED sits behind the liquid cell that projects the image into the kaleidoscope tube.

I used 3 different mirror arrangements with 3 different kaleidoscope lengths to produce a variety of effects. 

Some areas for improvement

• Higher powered LED - it got drowned out by any influx of ambient light in the area

• Improved battery source - used a 12V AA pack

• Play around with other colored materials to project through