Sandcastles Children’s Museum adds teleidoscope in honor of Ludington’s sesquicentennial

Sandcastles Children’s Museum adds teleidoscope in honor of Ludington’s sesquicentennial

LUDINGTON — Sandcastles Children’s Museum has recently installed a new exhibit in honor of Ludington’s 150th birthday.

A 3 foot teleidoscope is now available on the third floor stage for the kids to view visual patterns made from mirrors inside and a large lens at the end of the scope.  A teleidoscope is a kind of kaleidoscope, with a lens and an open view, so it can be used to form kaleidoscopic patterns from objects outside the instrument, rather than from items installed as part of it.

“The colorful Michigan Woodlands and Grandpa’s Farm exhibit with the floor to ceiling windows in the third floor ballroom make for a perfect back drop for the teleidoscope,” said Kristin Korendyke, Sandcastles executive director. “The children can see beautiful images through the lens and change what they see by turning the handles on the barrel or swinging the scope around to view something new.”

Sandcastles Children’s Museum received a sesquicentennial grant to purchase the teleidoscope from Community Foundation for Mason County, Pennies From Heaven, and Love Ludington Initiative for the purpose of celebrating the city’s birthday with a party that was held in May and the installation of this birthday gift.

“Kaleidoscopes were first mass marketed in the United States about one hundred and fifty years ago, and some homes had kaleidoscopes in their parlour for entertainment. This is what inspired us to seek out this kind of exhibit for the perfect sesquicentennial birthday present for the city,” Korendyke said.

Sandcastles Children’s Museum is a non-profit organization that has many volunteers that help build and maintain the exhibits in the museum. One of their volunteers, Larry Bing, built the rotating stand for the teleidoscope and installed it for kids to use.

“Whenever we install something new for kids, there is a lot to consider, safety, useability, and durability. Larry was the perfect volunteer for this project. He carefully considers each aspect in the building of anything for the museum. His attention to detail and skill in building make every project he works on turn out beautifully. The stand for the teleidoscope is no different. He considered the circumference of the spin, added the holographic embellishments, and constructed it in such a solid manner, it will last for years,” Korendyke said.

Sandcastles Children’s Museum is open seven days a week all summer long for families to come visit the new exhibit and play on the three floors of interactive exhibits.