Kaleidoscopes work by using light, mirrors, and colored objects to create dazzling shape-shifting patterns as you rotate their outer cylinder or tube.
Inside a kaleidoscope are small rectangular mirrors arranged in a triangular shape and tiny pieces of colored plastic, glass, or beads. When light enters through one end of the kaleidoscope, multiple images of the colored material are reflected in the mirrors, forming a pattern. As you turn the kaleidoscope, the pieces shift to form different, symmetrical patterns that you can see through the viewer.