If your family has ever visited a science museum, you've probably lost a child to the mirror exhibit — the camera that splits the picture down the middle so both halves of your face match, or melts you into a kaleidoscope. Ours vanished into one at the NEMO museum in Amsterdam for a solid thirty minutes. It's literally why this site exists.
Here's how to recreate that exhibit in your living room for a birthday party, without woodwork, wiring, or a Raspberry Pi weekend project.
The ingredient list
You already own everything:
- A laptop with a webcam (2016 or newer, Chrome or Edge)
- Your living-room TV
- One HDMI cable
Step 1: The mirror software
Open Magic Mirror in the browser and allow the camera. You'll immediately see yourself with effects available — the classic museum symmetry mirror, a kaleidoscope, and emoji rain are free to use forever, no signup. (The full set is 65 effects & games — thermal vision, neon outlines, time warp, Van Gogh — and costs £6.99 once, ever.)
Step 2: Onto the big screen
Connect the HDMI cable and press Show on TV. The TV becomes a clean, fullscreen mirror with no buttons for small fingers to press — everything is controlled from the laptop. Drag the display window to the TV screen and it locks in.
Step 3: Stagecraft (this is the bit that matters)
- Camera at kid height. Put the laptop below the TV, webcam pointing where their faces will be. Test with a cushion at four-year-old altitude.
- Light from the front. Effects look dramatically better when faces are lit. Face the setup away from windows, not towards them.
- Leave dancing room. The best effects — wibbly, ghost trails, time warp — reward movement. Two metres of clear floor turns it from a photo op into a dance floor.
- A masking-tape X on the floor tells kids exactly where to stand and, mysteriously, makes them queue.
Which effects for which age
- 3–5: Emoji rain, mirror, bubbles. Instant, visual, zero explanation needed.
- 6–8: Kaleidoscope, thermal, big head, funhouse. Old enough to experiment and perform.
- 9–10: Time warp, noodle (slit-scan), predator, ASCII. They'll figure out tricks you didn't know existed.
- Adults at pickup time: Van Gogh and Picasso. Trust us.
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