Mystery Lab / Exhibits & mechanisms
Inspect the Drawings, Then Change Their Interval
Inspect eight original ball drawings individually, then compare their unchanged sequence at two intervals. Check what changes and what stays fixed.
You can begin without knowing the zoetrope
A zoetrope is an early optical device with sequential drawings inside a drum. Spin it and view through its slits, and an action appears to unfold. This screen uses eight ball heights instead of reconstructing the physical drum.
First inspect each drawing to see what differs. Then view the same sequence at a slow interval and a quick interval. You can finish both steps using Next drawing and the timetable, without automatic playback.
① Inspect the eight still drawings in order. ② Check those same eight drawings in Slow interval and Quick interval, comparing the time for one circuit.
Continue with the story and its records
Explore how the difference you noticed connects with the surviving records of the historical story.
Read the zoetrope storyOpen the source
Sources and scope
Checked against Science Museum Group’s collection record and the University of Exeter’s Bill Douglas Cinema Museum explanations and manufacturing-rights record. The latter two entries come from the same museum. Early attributions and precise years differ, so the timeline uses the 1830s rather than one invention date.
- 01Zoetrope · Object 1934-302 Science Museum Group Collection · Checked 2026-10-22
- 02Zoetrope · Item 69009 The Bill Douglas Cinema Museum · University of Exeter · Checked 2026-10-22
- 03Zoetrope: Wheel of life · Item 69010 The Bill Douglas Cinema Museum · University of Exeter · Checked 2026-10-22
No historical photographs, picture strips, illustrations or videos are copied or embedded. The ball, ground, frames and timing values are original. This 2D example explores order and intervals; it does not reproduce slit effects, cylinder views, visual physiology or a universal response to a particular playback rate.