The Science Magician - Dr Matt Pritchard

Twistmas Advent calendar day 24

Naughty or Nice? A lenticular like construction changes the word based on what angle you view the grid at. There’s an array of horizontal bars a few millimetres above a printed sheet which has the two words interlaced.

Every day of this advent season we will be posting a festive themed illusion curated by Dr Matt Pritchard. You can view many more illusions and curious objects at Twist Museum, London. Situated on Oxford Street it’s a perfect trip to combine with Christmas shopping.

Twistmas Advent calendar day 23

Another simple craft that has a magical effect. Flick the side of the card and the two flaps behind switch places.

Every day of this advent season we will be posting a festive themed illusion curated by Dr Matt Pritchard. You can view many more illusions and curious objects at Twist Museum, London. Situated on Oxford Street it’s a perfect trip to combine with Christmas shopping.

Twistmas Advent calendar day 22

A short walk from Twist museum is the theatre where Prof Pepper’s first demonstrated his optical magic by making a ghost appear on stage. Reflecting a bright object off a glass screen allowed the audience to see both a reflection and a scene behind the glass. Augmented reality.

This simple craft uses a mobile phone to be the source of the bright ghostly image and a thin piece of clear plastic inside a bell jar. Angled at 45 degrees it bounces the reflection back at the viewer.

Every day of this advent season we will be posting a festive themed illusion curated by Dr Matt Pritchard. You can view many more illusions and curious objects at Twist Museum, London. Situated on Oxford Street it’s a perfect trip to combine with Christmas shopping.

Twistmas Advent calendar day 21

There’s something wrong with this! What’s the connection to Christmas?

Every day of this advent season we will be posting a festive themed illusion curated by Dr Matt Pritchard. You can view many more illusions and curious objects at Twist Museum, London. Situated on Oxford Street it’s a perfect trip to combine with Christmas shopping.

Twistmas Advent calendar day 20

What’s happening with these reflections? In today’s digital world it’s too easy to say it’s sneaky editing or AI. However, this illusion is very analogue and uses a simple technique that has been used on stages to make ghostly appearances and vanishes.

Due to various circumstances, the lighting here isn’t as good as I’d like and the rigging impeded my choreography in certain places. On much larger scales, this can be better compensated for BUT the tradeoff is using incredibly large (and heavy) mirrored glass.

Every day of this advent season we will be posting a festive themed illusion curated by Dr Matt Pritchard. You can view many more illusions and curious objects at Twist Museum, London. Situated on Oxford Street it’s a perfect trip to combine with Christmas shopping.

Twistmas Advent calendar day 19

Three mirrors combine with the quarter pieces to make five golden rings. I flippin’ love mirrors.

Every day of this advent season we will be posting a festive themed illusion curated by Dr Matt Pritchard. You can view many more illusions and curious objects at Twist Museum, London. Situated on Oxford Street it’s a perfect trip to combine with Christmas shopping.

Twistmas Advent calendar day 18

An ambigram like object that when the lines are reflected in a mirror they either show up as the word Dark or Light.

Every day of this advent season we will be posting a festive themed illusion curated by Dr Matt Pritchard. You can view many more illusions and curious objects at Twist Museum, London. Situated on Oxford Street it’s a perfect trip to combine with Christmas shopping.

Twistmas Advent calendar day 17

This is possibly my favourite arrangement for a “geometric vanish.” When four identical pieces are rearranged they create a mysterious hole in the centre of the board. But how does it work?

Every day of this advent season we will be posting a festive themed illusion curated by Dr Matt Pritchard. You can view many more illusions and curious objects at Twist Museum, London. Situated on Oxford Street it’s a perfect trip to combine with Christmas shopping.

Twistmas Advent calendar day 15

Context matters. The same symbol can be read either as an A or H, depending on what other letters surround it.

Every day of this advent season we will be posting a festive themed illusion curated by Dr Matt Pritchard. You can view many more illusions and curious objects at Twist Museum, London. Situated on Oxford Street it’s a perfect trip to combine with Christmas shopping.