Kidsmagic

The magician shows a cube to the audience - each side a different colour. The cube is covered with one hand - the other hand copies the first, resulting in TWO cubes. The magician now takes one cube and slaps it down on the table. The result? One squashed cube. The squashed cube and the regular cube can now be examined by the audience.

This is an intriguing display showing how a painted arrow can be made to move up and down a bar, and even multiply. A white arrow appears on a blank bar, and proceeds to jump around in a bewildering fashion. Not only does it move around, but it also splits in two. The bar can be minutely inspected by a member of the audience.

I guess at some stage, we've all had to have a key duplicated. Here's a unique method of duplicating a key without the use of a key-cutting machine. The magician has a key examined by the audience. He now introduces a key-blank which can also be examined. With just his finger, he traces the outline of the key onto the blank. The blank now has the same contours of the original key, both of which can be examined yet again.

We never like to see legal tender being destroyed, but in this video the result is quite acceptable. A magician pushes a playing card through a banknote in full view, leaving no damage. This differs somewhat from the traditional method of using a sleeve or cover to enclose the note before perforation. The note can be borrowed from the audience and returned intact.

A magic trick can be made to look all the more convincing if everyday items are used to create the mystery. A magician places a pencil into a metal tube, and seals it with a cap. The tube is then held by a spectator while the magician makes a magic pass. The spectator can then remove the cap and examine the contents. Strangely, the pencil has vanished, and in its place is a trail of star-dust.

In magic, the thrusting of one solid object through another is often baffling and teasing. Here is a fine example. A metal rod is seen to pass through a smaller hole in a solid metal plate. On inspection, it is shown to be impossible for the rod to pass through the hole.

The video is of a simple version of a well-known magic trick called the "Monkey Bar". Scaled down for the use of young magicians, it can be just as puzzling. The magician shows a bar with three ribbons attached. Two are alike in colour, and one is odd. The odd ribbon is on one end of the bar, and as a joke the magician turns the bar to make the odd ribbon appear on the other end. This is reversed, and the audience are not impressed. However, when the magician grasps all three ribbons and pulls them firmly, the odd ribbon is seen to have jumped to the centre of the bar. Everything can now be handed out for inspection.

This presentation shows a close-up account of a confined object changing places with a free object. The magician secures a blank card onto a safety-pin, and hands it to a spectator for examination. The spectator is then requested to draw anything on a second card. The magician then causes the two cards to change places in an instant, leaving the spectator's card impaled on the closed pin. Once again the cards change places, and both are offered for inspection.