Do you see what I see?
In this activity, students are asked to view some optical illusions and critique what they see.
By the end of this activity, students should be able to:
understand that sometimes there are various interpretations of the same information
discuss the reliability of observational information
discuss the importance of critiquing evidence and the need for replication and corroboration of data.
Optical illusion
Optical illusions can be used to demonstrate the importance of checking information and corroborating data.
Download the Word file (see link below) for:
introduction/background notes
what you need
what to do
illusion images
student handouts.
Related content
The information provided by the eye is received as patterns of light on our retinal cells and sent to the brain by way of the optic nerve. Explore this further in the articles Light and sight – introduction and Sight.
Observation and science is a simple but useful introduction to the role of scientific observation. Check out the range of Student activities and Professional learning development resources in the green box at the bottom of this article.
The Sight and optical illusions collection supports the Science Roadshow's Sight and Illusion – Te kitenga me ngā kitenga mariko theme – but it is also useful for anyone interested in how our brain processes the information it receives.
