Anamorphic Mirror Cylinder Topographic Distortions

60 mins Ages 10-14 Indoor

A challenging, hands-on discovery and STEM project designed for curious young minds aged 10 to 14.

Materials Needed

  • • Reflective chrome pipe piece or mirror mylar film on a 2-inch cylinder (1 unit)
  • • Graph paper and heavy white cardstock (2 sheets)
  • • Drawing compass, protractor, and ruler (1 set)
  • • Fine-point colored drawing pens (1 set)

Pro Tips

  • → Stand a 2-inch diameter mirror cylinder vertically in the center of polar coordinate grid paper.
  • → Grid lines in polar space radiate in curves, forcing square images to be drawn in distorted horseshoe rings.
  • → Looking into the curved mirror cylinder compresses the distorted drawing back into a normal, proportioned image.

Safety First

Ensure mirror cylinder edges are deburred and smooth.

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Step-by-Step Instructions

1

Step 1

Draw a simple 5x5 grid portrait (like an animal or face) on square graph paper.

2

Step 2

Draw a polar coordinate grid made of expanding concentric circles and radiating angle lines on a clean sheet of cardstock.

3

Step 3

Transfer the drawing square by square onto the polar arcs, stretching features wider as they radiate outward.

4

Step 4

Place a polished chrome or mirror-wrapped cylinder at the center to view the distorted drawing reflected in its original proportions.

What they are learning

Cylindrical catadioptric transformation Polar coordinate mathematical mapping (r, theta) Historical Renaissance optical cryptography