Kaleidoscope Making Craft Kit, Ages 5+

A kit for building your own kaleidoscope, which is a better proposition than owning one. The child assembles it, then looks through it and works out why the mirrors and the loose coloured pieces produce what they produce — a small physics lesson that arrives by itself, without anybody teaching it. Assembly takes patience and following a sequence in order, both worth practising at five. Cardboard construction keeps it light and manageable for small hands, and the finished kaleidoscope is a toy in its own right afterwards.

• Material: cardboard
• Build-your-own kaleidoscope kit
• Introduces colour, shape, light and reflection
• Builds creativity, dexterity and sequencing
• Ages 5 and up