• Visit
    • Buy Tickets
    • Calendar
    • After Dark Thursdays
    • Exhibits
    • Artworks on View
    • Getting Here
    • Event Rentals
  • Education
    • Professional Development Programs
    • Tools for Teaching and Learning
    • Learning About Learning
    • Community Programs
    • Educator Newsletter
  • Explore
    • Browse by Subject
    • Activities
    • Video
    • Exhibits
    • Apps
    • Blogs
    • Websites
  • About Us
    • Our Story
    • Partnerships
    • Global Collaborations
    • Explore Our Reach
    • Arts at the Exploratorium
    • Contact Us
  • Join + Support
    • Donate today!
    • Membership
    • Join our donor community
    • Engage your business
    • Attend a fundraiser
    • Party at the Piers
    • Explore our reach
    • Thank you to our supporters
    • Host your event
    • Volunteer
  • Store
  • Visit
    • Buy Tickets
    • Frequently Asked Questions
    • Calendar
      • Today
      • This Week
      • After Dark Thursday Nights
      • Arts
      • Conferences
      • Cinema Arts
      • Free and Community Events
      • Fundraising Events
      • Kids + Families
      • Live Webcasts
      • Members
      • Ongoing + Series
      • Special Hours and Open Mondays
      • Private Event Closures
    • Hours
    • Getting Here
    • Museum Map
    • Reduced Rates & Community Day
    • Accessibility
    • Tips for Visiting with Kids
    • How to Exploratorium
    • Exhibits
    • Tactile Dome
    • Artworks on View
    • Cinema Arts
    • Kanbar Forum
    • Black Box
    • Museum Galleries
      • Bernard and Barbro Osher Gallery 1: Human Phenomena
        • Exhibition: Science of Sharing
          • Educator Activities
        • Tactile Dome
          • 1971 Press Release
        • Black Box
        • Curator Statement
      • Gallery 2: Tinkering
        • Curator Statement
      • Bechtel Gallery 3: Seeing and Listening
        • Curator Statement
      • Gallery 4: Living Systems
        • Curator Statement
      • Gallery 5: Outdoor Exhibits
        • Curator Statement
      • Fisher Bay Observatory Gallery 6: Observing Landscapes
        • Wired Pier Environmental Field Station
        • Curator Statement
      • PlayLists
        • All PlayLists
        • A Different Light
        • “We” or “Just Me”?
        • See Yourself in Cells
        • Greatest Hits: Gallery 2
        • Greatest Hits: Gallery 3
        • Greatest Hits: Gallery 4
        • Museum Map
    • Restaurant & Café
    • School Field Trips
      • Getting Here
        • Bus Routes for Field Trips and Other Groups
      • Prices and Discounts
      • Planning Guide
      • Reservations
        • Field Trip Request Form
      • Resources
    • Groups / Tour Operators
      • Group Visit Request Form
    • Event Rentals
      • COVID-Compliant Options
      • Full Facility & Gallery Bundles
      • Fisher Bay Observatory Gallery & Terrace
      • East Gallery
      • Bechtel Central Gallery
      • Osher West Gallery
      • Kanbar Forum

      • Weddings
      • Proms and School Events
      • Daytime Meetings & Events
      • Happy Hour on the Water

      • Rentals FAQ
      • Event Planning Resources
      • Rental Request Form
      • Download Brochure (pdf)
    • Exploratorium Store
    • Contact Us
    • Español
    • 繁體中文
    • 简体中文
    • 한국어
    • Français
    • Deutsch
    • Português
    • 日本語
  • Education
    • Black Teachers and Students Matter
    • Professional Development Programs
      • Teacher Institute
        • About the Teacher Institute
        • Summer Institute for Teachers
        • Teacher Induction Program
        • Leadership Program
        • Teacher Institute Research
        • CA NGSS STEM Conferences
          • NGSS STEM Conference 2020
        • Science Snacks
          • Browse by Subject
          • Special Collections
          • Science Snacks A-Z
          • NGSS Planning Tools
          • Frequently Asked Questions
        • Digital Teaching Boxes
        • Meet the Teacher Institute Staff
        • Resources for Supporting Science Teachers
      • Institute for Inquiry
        • What Is Inquiry?
        • Inquiry-based Science and English Language Development
          • Educators Guide
            • Conceptual Overview
              • Science Talk
              • Science Writing
            • Classroom Video Gallery
              • Magnet Investigation
              • Snail Investigation
            • Teacher Professional Development
            • Project Studies
            • Acknowledgments
          • Conference: Exploring Science and English Language Development
            • Interviews with Participants
            • Plenary Sessions
            • Synthesis, Documentation, and Resources
        • Workshops
          • Participant Portal
          • Fundamentals of Inquiry
            • Summary Schedule
          • BaySci Science Champions Academy
          • Facilitators Guides
          • Commissioned Workshops
        • Resource Library
        • Meet the IFI Staff
      • Resources for California Educators
      • K-12 Science Leader Network
      • Resources for Supporting Science Teachers
      • Field Trip Explainer Program
    • Tools for Teaching and Learning
      • Learning Toolbox
      • Science Snacks
      • Digital Teaching Boxes
      • Science Activities
      • Tinkering Projects
      • Recursos gratuitos para aprender ciencias
      • Videos
      • Exhibits
      • Publications
      • Apps
      • Educator Newsletter
      • Exploratorium Websites
    • Educator Newsletter
    • Advancing Ideas about Learning
      • Visitor Research and Evaluation
        • What we do
        • Reports & Publications
        • Projects
        • Who we are
      • Center for Informal Learning in Schools
    • Community Programs
      • High School Explainer Program
      • Xtech
      • Community Educational Engagement
      • California Tinkering Afterschool Network
        • About
        • Partners
        • Resources
        • News & Updates
        • Further Reading
  • Explore
    • Browse by Subject
      • Arts
      • Astronomy & Space Sciences
        • Planetary Science
        • Space Exploration
      • Biology
        • Anatomy & Physiology
        • Ecology
        • Evolution
        • Genetics
        • Molecular & Cellular Biology
        • Neuroscience
      • Chemistry
        • Combining Matter
        • Food & Cooking
        • Materials & Matter
        • States of Matter
      • Data
        • Data Collection & Analysis
        • Modeling & Simulations
        • Visualization
      • Earth Science
        • Atmosphere
        • Geology
        • Oceans & Water
      • Engineering & Technology
        • Design & Tinkering
        • Real-World Problems & Solutions
      • Environmental Science
        • Global Systems & Cycles
        • Human Impacts
      • History
      • Mathematics
      • Nature of Science
        • Measurement
        • Science as a Process
        • Size & Scale
        • Time
      • Perception
        • Light, Color & Seeing
        • Listening & Hearing
        • Optical Illusions
        • Scent, Smell & Taste
        • Tactile & Touch
      • Physics
        • Electricity & Magnetism
        • Energy
        • Heat & Temperature
        • Light
        • Mechanics
        • Quantum
        • Sound
        • Waves
      • Social Science
        • Culture
        • Language
        • Psychology
        • Sociology
    • Browse by Content Type
      • Activities
      • Blogs
      • Exhibits
      • Video
      • Websites
      • Apps
        • Total Solar Eclipse
  • About Us
    • Our Story
    • Explore Our Reach
    • Impact Report
    • Fact Sheet
    • Awards
    • Our History
      • 50 Years 1969–2019

    • Senior Leadership
    • Board of Trustees
    • Board of Trustees Alumni
    • Staff Scientists
    • Staff Artists

    • Arts at the Exploratorium
      • Artworks on View
      • Artist-in-Residence Program
      • Cinema Arts
        • History and Collection
        • Cinema Artists-in-Residence
        • Resources and Collaborating Organizations
        • Kanbar Forum
      • Center for Art & Inquiry
        • Begin Here
          • Lessons
            • Bob Miller/Light Walk
            • Ruth Asawa/Milk Carton Sculpture
          • Workshops
      • Resonance
        • About the Series
        • See & Hear
        • Past Seasons
      • Over the Water
      • Black Box
      • Upcoming Events
      • Temporary Exhibitions
      • Arts Program Staff
      • Arts Committee and Advisers
    • Teacher Institute
    • Institute for Inquiry
    • Online Engagement
    • Explainer Programs
    • Studio for Public Spaces
    • Exhibit Making
    • Partnerships
      • Building Global Connections
        • Global Collaborations
          • Projects
          • Approach
          • People
          • Impact
      • Partnering with Science Agencies
        • NASA
        • NOAA
      • Partnering with Educational Institutions
      • Osher Fellows

    • Job Opportunities
    • Become a Volunteer

    • Contact Info
    • Newsletter
    • Educator Newsletter
    • Blogs
    • Follow & Share
    • Press Office

    • FY20 Audit Report
    • 990 FY19 Tax Return
    • Use Policy
      • Privacy Policy
      • Intellectual Property Policy
  • Join + Support
    • Donate today!
    • Membership
      • Membership FAQ
      • Member Benefits
      • After Dark Membership
      • Member Events
      • May Is for Members
    • Join our donor community
    • Engage your business
      • Corporate Membership
      • Luminary Partnerships
    • Attend a fundraiser
      • Wonder Funday
      • Science of Cocktails
      • Party at the Piers
        • Event Leadership and Host Committee
    • Explore our reach
    • Thank you to our supporters
    • Volunteer
      • Benefits
      • How to Apply
      • Application for Corporate Groups
      • Application for Internships
      • Application for Professional Societies
      • Application for School Groups & Clubs
      • Our Contract
      • Application for Individuals
      • Opportunities
  • Press Office
    • Press Releases
    • News Coverage
    • Events Calendar
    • Fact Sheet
    • Photographs
    • Press Video
    • Press Kits
    • Press Visits
    • Exploratorium Logos
    • Recent Awards
    • Praise for the Exploratorium
    • Join Our Press List
  • Store
 

Learn with us online while the Exploratorium is temporarily closed. You can help us reopen—donate today.

Exploratorium
Exploratorium
  • Visit
    • Buy Tickets
    • Calendar
    • After Dark Thursdays
    • Exhibits
    • Artworks on View
    • Getting Here
    • Event Rentals
  • Education
    • Professional Development Programs
    • Tools for Teaching and Learning
    • Learning About Learning
    • Community Programs
    • Educator Newsletter
  • Explore
    • Browse by Subject
    • Activities
    • Video
    • Exhibits
    • Apps
    • Blogs
    • Websites
  • About Us
    • Our Story
    • Partnerships
    • Global Collaborations
    • Explore Our Reach
    • Arts at the Exploratorium
    • Contact Us
  • Join + Support
    • Donate today!
    • Membership
    • Join our donor community
    • Engage your business
    • Attend a fundraiser
    • Party at the Piers
    • Explore our reach
    • Thank you to our supporters
    • Host your event
    • Volunteer
  • Store
Science Snacks

Anti-Gravity Mirror

Learn how to fly with this neat mirror trick.

A reflection of your right side can appear to be your left side. Try this activity and you'll appear to perform many gravity-defying stunts.


Grade Bands: 
K-2
3-5
6-8
9-12
Subject: 
Biology
Neuroscience
Perception
Light, Color & Seeing
Physics
Light
Keywords: 
mirror
friend
exhibit-based
reflections
NGSS and EP&Cs: 
LS
LS1
PS
PS4
CCCs
Patterns
Cause and Effect

  • Facebook logo
  • Reddit logo
  • Twitter logo


Tools and Materials

  • A good-quality flat plastic mirror, 2 × 3 feet (60 × 90 centimeters) or larger
  • A mirror stand (this can be anything that will support the mirror in an upright position and still allow someone to straddle it—for example, a ring stand or two with clamps and tape)
  • A partner

Assembly

Secure your mirror in an upright position. One way to do this is to tape a ring stand to the back of the mirror. You want the mirror to be as vertical as possible and leave enough room for someone to be able to stand with one foot in front of the mirror and one foot in back.


To Do and Notice

Stand the mirror on the floor. Have your partner stand facing the mirror.

Straddle the mirror by placing one leg in front and one leg behind. Shift your weight to the foot behind the mirror. Next, lower yourself so your torso is at the top edge of the mirror, then lift your front leg and move it repeatedly toward and away from the mirror. To an observer, you’ll appear to be flying.

If you use this Snack as a demonstration, you can make the effect more dramatic by covering the mirror with a cloth, straddling the mirror, and then dropping the cloth as you “take off.”


What’s Going On?

If you stand with the edge of a large mirror bisecting your body, you will appear whole to a person who’s observing from the front. To the observer, the mirror image of the visible half of your body looks exactly like the real half that is obscured behind the mirror. 

You look whole because the human body is symmetrical. The observer’s brain is tricked into believing that an image of your right side is really your left side. So just straddle the mirror, raise one leg, and you’ll fly!

You can try this out any place you find a good-sized mirror you can straddle or stand alongside—at home, in a department store, or in a dance studio with a doorway cut into a mirrored wall. Stand at the edge of the doorway so that half of your body is being reflected for a very convincing flight.


Going Further

The cars that floated across the desert in the movie Star Wars each had a full-length mirror attached along their lower edge, hiding the wheels. A camera pointed at a car saw a view of reflected sand and shadow in the mirror. That's how the cars appeared to float above the sand.


Resources

Check out some things you can do with your Anti-Gravity Mirror in this episode of the Build Your Own Exploratorium video series.



Related Snacks

Science activity that explores images from a concave mirror.
Touch the Spring

You can see it, but you can’t touch it.

Science activity demonstrating paths of light reflection
Corner Reflector

See yourself as others see you.

Cylindrical Mirror

See yourself as others see you in this cylindrical mirror.


Related Exhibits

Anti-Gravity Mirror
Anti-Gravity Mirror

Take off and fly in a mirror that makes half your body look whole.


Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Attribution: Exploratorium Teacher Institute

  • Education
    • Teacher Institute
    • Tools for Teaching and Learning
      • Science Snacks
        • Browse by Subject
        • Special Collections
        • Science Snacks A-Z
        • NGSS Planning Tools
        • Frequently Asked Questions

Connect with us!

  •   Sign up for our educator newsletter
  •   Follow #ExploEDU
  •   Teacher Institute YouTube
  •   Teacher Institute Facebook
  •  teacherinstitute @exploratorium.edu
Exploratorium
Visit
Join
Give

Pier 15
(Embarcadero at Green Street)
San Francisco, CA 94111
(415) 528-4444

Contact Us

  • Plan Your Visit
  • Buy Tickets
  • Hours
  • Getting Here
  • Calendar
  • Tactile Dome
  • Store
  • About Us
  • Become a Member
  • Donate
  • Event Rentals
  • Jobs
  • Volunteer
  • Press Office

Get at-home activities and learning tools delivered straight to your inbox

The Exploratorium is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Our tax ID #: 94-1696494
© 2021 Exploratorium | Terms of Service | Privacy Policy | Your California Privacy Rights |