Alice in Wonderland Science

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland is one of my favourite books, so I'm very excited about a new mini series of Alice themed science experiments and activities. My first activity is super simple. All you need is a pen, paper and a mirror!

Alice encounters many strange things in Wonderland, including reversed time and a backwards clock. The idea behind this activity is to write backwards using a mirror. It might be harder than you think.

Mirror Writing

You'll need

Mirror

Pen

Paper

Instructions

Try to write a short word backwards using the hand you normally write with. Use a mirror to check you’ve done it correctly. Try again with different words.

Image of a mad hatter toy, paper with Alice written on it and a mirror

Is it easier to write some letters than others? What happens if you try to use the hand that isn’t the one you write with? As an extra challenge, can you write backwards with one hand and forwards with the other?

How do mirrors work?

If you look into a mirror, you see an image of yourself reflected back. The image appears to be behind the mirror and is the right way up but reversed.

Mirrors flip images front to back. If you write a word on a piece of paper and hold it up to a mirror, the letters are backwards but still the right way up. We call this a mirror image. Only mirrors that are perfectly flat ( plane mirrors ) give a mirror image.