Education/Science

"The first time I saw a Mirage® was in the supply room at Indiana State University. It became the first object in my collection of toys that demonstrate physical properties.

I use the Mirage® primarily as a Gee-Whiz demonstration in optics lab, but I have found that it helps students to understand the difference between real and virtual images.

An engineering professor who teaches a World Cultures class remarked that he would have liked to have had the Mirage® in his class. It would have been the perfect example of the fact that not everything is exactly what it appears to be."

- Lab Supervisor, Evansville, Indiana

Mirage® is used in these disciplines:

  • Science
  • Physics
  • Psychology
  • Philosophy
  • Math
  • Optics
  • Religion
  • Special Education
  • Kindergarten

Mirage® User Manual

For more information, please check out the following links:



 Fun With Mathematics
Camosun College,
B.C., Canada


University of Maryland
Physics Lecture-Demonstration


Michigan Technological Univ.
Link #1: Levitating Penny
Link #2: Laser Reflection


POV World
"Magic Box" Poster


Title: "Ray Tracing from the Ground Up"
Author: Kevin Suffern, University of Technology, Sydney, Australia
Publisher: AK Peters
Download the PDF


New Zealand Physics Teachers
St. Mary's
Once on the site, go to "Optics" then "Reflection" then "Mirage Mirror"





A MATRIX ANALYSIS of the "MIRAGE" OPTICAL-ILLUSION TOY

Sriya Adhya, John Noe and Harold Metcalf,
Laser Teaching Center, Department of Physics & Astronomy,
Stony Brook University

Sriya's Analysis:
One rewarding aspect of studying elementary optics is the many rich connections encountered between optics and diverse areas of mathematics. For example, matrix analysis can be used to describe light rays in the paraxial approximation; model optical resonators and laser beam propagation; and charaterize polarized light.
Click here to find out more about Sriya's analysis





Newspaper report of young Bill Wright of West Virginia, USA who used a Mirage® 3-D Hologram Maker to win in Science Fair

Fifth grader Bill Wright from Meadows Elementary School in Huntington, WV, won the school Social Studies Fair in the Psychology category with his project titled "You Won't Believe Your Eyes" and advanced to the Cabell County Social Studies Fair.

After winning at the county level, Bill advanced to the State Competition in Charleston, WV on April 22, 2005. To enhance his project for the tough competition at the state level, Bill added an Opti-Gone Mirage® to his project and built a model to demonstrate how the light reflection made the object rise above the surface.

He also conducted an email interview with Michael Levin of Opti-Gone International about the Mirage® and added this interview and his findings to his abstract on optical illusions and how your eyes can deceive you. The competition was fierce, and Bill was called back for a second interview with one other project since there can be no ties at the state level.

At the awards ceremony "You Can't Believe Your Eyes" won Second Place for the State in the Psychology Category.