Melissa & Doug Innovation Academy Animation Scope Wooden Build-and-Play Optical Illusion Device

I bought this for my animation class in school. Students LOVE to build it, create their own pictures, and play with the machine. We learn about animation concepts as well as art. Well worth the money.

Really cool. Wish there were more designs and blank ones to draw.

This is marked 8 - 12. Personally, with parental assistance, most kids will enjoy it between 5 and 9.As far as the "put it together" - no advanced skills are needed, this is thick and chunky and not many pieces.What you are building is an old fashion animation scope.There are 3 parts to this ...1. Flat design that when you spin it, it bleeds together.For further exploration, try cutting your own circles from cardboard and experiment ..... color a design and see what happens when you spin it fast and slow. ...... hold a marker and move it up and down and watch the design. ..... put a few drops of paint on the inside and watch the paint spin (outside idea.)2. Raised sides ... watch through the gaps to see a "short movie" ... it's an early gif!For further exploration, try making your own movies. Carefully follow the ideas they give you to get the right size and spacing, and make your own moving pictures.3. The third one is a mirrored cone that will create a different type of movie picture. ..... You can explore this one as well.As a Science experiment and movie / magic tricks, this will give you a lot to do for a child who finds this interesting.But many kids will be bored rather quickly from my experience. As they will play with what is included and then they will be finished.This is a science experiment and learning tool, the same kind used in the days before electricity.Have fun!

This is a neat kit, that I think works great as a gift for kids 7+ (with a little adult help...)The construction of the scope is quite simple, and the kids enjoyed screwing in screws as always. Only takes a few minutes, so the building of this is not going to occupy them like a Lego set would.The scope itself elicited a lot of "Woahhh, that's cooool"s from the kiddos. Trying out the different types of animation/illusions was interesting/fun. It works very well, and the various "attachment" rings work well and are nice plastic that will last. They also give the kids blank (and half-finished) illustrations to try out on their own, which is neat as well. I will say... this doesn't seem like the kind of toy that is going to have a lot of staying power... it might be played with three times then ditches, but I don't see that as a huge issue - sometimes toys that come and go are welcome to keep clutter low!The only negative functionally-wise is that the thin animation strips included come all folded up, so it's very difficult to get it to sit smoothly in a round shape, as needed.Value-wise, I do think this kit could be slightly less expensive, given the limited replayability and the simplicity of the contents... maybe $19.99?Overall, a neat kit!

This animation scope by Melissa & Doug is a unique and engaging toy. I would have loved to have had one of these when I was a child.Kids have to put this together before they can use it. That helps them learn how to assemble things - a terrific skill. The instructions are clear and the only tool they need is a screwdriver, which is included.Once it's assembled, there are 3 ways to use this scope:- a zoetrope (like a film reel)- a praxinoscope (uses mirrors to make the animation)- an illusion machine (optical illusion)These are all unique ways to think about what we are seeing, and how the brain processes images and light.When assembled, the scope is about 7" tall, with a 5" diameter.It comes with animation strips, animation wheels, illusion disks, and sticker sheets.This is a wonderful toy to give your child.

When we unboxed the Animation Scope kit, the kids were not sure what this was about, but once the spinning mechanisms started to take shape, they were hooked! Clear pictogram instructions with solid components made assembly easy, especially with the kid-size screwdriver that is included - great life skill development!Once assembly is complete - put the large discs in the praxinoscope to whet their appetite, and then put on the band for optical illusion - it really looks like magic with walking flamingos and cartwheeling!Try everything out, but read the Unleash Your Inner Innovator panel for best results with the DIY panels. They give you one for each effect, and enough decals to try effects without a lot of repetitive drawing. It would not be too tough to make some blanks panels for energetic illustrators. This kit could go younger than 8 with parental assistance, however not too much younger with paper parts that may need some finessing. The zoetrope strips were rolled so we used the interior design first to loosen the curl. The kit impressed teens and parents as well as our middle-schooler - it's a great way to learn about optics!

I bought this for my son and he says it's fun and easy to assemble. He struggled a little bit, but figured it out. He has had trouble getting it to work, but he says it's ok when he actually has it working. It gave him something to do at home, but not sure how often he will be playing with it.

this looks like it will be a fun learning and building kit for my granddaughter who like most is distant learning right now and isn’t handling well, she is bored of staring a a computer screen and this should be fun for her and her dad to build together and learn as well. everything looks okay, not your pricey fancy kit but, it will do.