You may remember when you were a child, sitting in a movie theater wearing a pair of red and blue glasses, and being amazed to see the movie screen become three-dimensional!
The red/blue image you see is called a "stereoscopic 3D image" and contains two different filtered images. When you wear color-coded (red and cyan) glasses, the brains visual cortex fuses the images, creating the feeling that you are looking at a 3D image.
Now you can bring the magic home with your kids. Making 3D glasses is easy and requires only a few basic steps. Once you're done making it, try searching online for some 3D pictures to test your glasses!
To make 3-D glasses, you need the following:
3-D glasses template, printed on cardboard
Scissors
Plastic ziplock bag or red and turquoise mylar/acetate
Red and blue permanent markers
Glue dots
Tape
Craft supplies (tissue paper, glitter paper, kraft paper, ribbon) for decoration
1. Print out the 3D glasses template. You can download this JPEG and print it on card stock at home.
Note:If you use regular printing paper instead of cardboard, the 3-D glasses will not be strong enough to wear and use.
2. Cut out the 3-D glasses template. If your child is making a craft and is under 7 years old, he or she may need to carefully supervise this step if he or she is not good at cutting paper.
3. Using the lenses in the template as a guide, draw a rectangle on the plastic bag, color it red, and repeat with a blue marker.
4. Use scissors to cut out the lens you just drew in the plastic bag. If you are using colored mylar or acetate, use the lenses as guides to cut out the rectangles for the glasses, you should have one blue (cyan) and one red.
5. Use glue dots or tape to stick the lenses to the back of the glasses. The red lens should cover the left eye hole and the blue lens should coverCover the right eye hole.
6. Use tape to attach the temples of the glasses. One is on the left and the other is on the right.
7. Fold the top of the template over the lens and seal it together with tape. Once you've completed this step, you can decorate the front of your 3-D glasses as desired (but be careful not to cover the lenses). Get creative with these 3D glasses by using glitter, ribbon, felt, tissue paper, or craft paper. Now, find 3-D pictures online to test your glasses!
