Kaleidoscope Facts

In 1816, Sir David Brewster of Scotland was the first person to invent the concept and object called the 'kaleidoscope.' He stumbled upon it through experimentation with prisms and other optical tools. He created a tube-like instrument that contained loose pieces of glass and other objects that were reflected by mirrors and/or lenses set at different angles to create various symmetrical patterns when viewed through one end of the tube. Brewster's term for this new instrument, "kaleidoscope," came from the Greek words meaning, "beautiful-form-to see."