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Jonathan
Inner circle
Oklahoma
1210 Posts
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Posted: Mar 12, 2012 6:39pm
My girlfriend is going to Africa on a mission trip to help an orphanage there. It's really a tragic story. She thought it would be fun to show them some magic tricks and then teach them how to do them.
It would serve a dual purpose. Obviously, it would be fun and bring enjoyment to them. But also, they are extremely gullible over there and believe anything they see is real. It's really shocking what they believe and how they are taken advantage of sometimes. The idea that a video or photo could be faked or computer generated is completely foreign to them. It would be nice to teach them the basic idea that just because something looks a certain way doesn't mean that it is, that you can fool someone into thinking you are doing something that you aren't.
Do you have any suggestions for tricks that meet the following criteria:
1. Kids and/or teenagers must be able to do them without much practice.
2. It can't require anything gimmicked, or something that has to be specially made (within reason, of course)
3. It must use only items that they would have at an African orphanage or something really really small that can be taken (there is no more room in the bags).
4. They are bringing a bunch of cards for them to play with, but they aren't very familiar with playing cards which makes a lot of card tricks hard. But some card tricks will work.
5. The African children speak English decently, but cultural references and things like that they are unfamiliar with which makes a lot of instructions and things we take for granted in dealing with spectators difficult (they don't know what "cutting" the cards or "shuffling" the cards means for example).
Do you have any suggestions? She leaves Thursday! These kids haven't seen a single magic trick in their lives most likely, so even tricks that every kid knows will fool them. (I don't have time to look up anything so please explain the trick or PM me)
Thanks so much!!!
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brody
Inner circle
Omaha
1137 Posts
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Posted: Mar 12, 2012 8:16pm
Pencil stuck to hand
french drop
2 in the hand 1 in the pocket
3 cup puzzle (1cup mouth up, 2 mouth down)
tying a knot without letting go of the ends
heck, go to the library and check out a gradeschoolers book on magic
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motown
Inner circle
Atlanta by way of Detroit
4778 Posts
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Posted: Mar 13, 2012 12:02am
I would pick up one or two of the beginner magic books that are put there. That should give your girlfriend plenty to work with. There's the Knack book that Kaufman wrote or the one by Joshus Jay.
"If you ever write anything about me after I'm gone, I will come back and haunt you."
– Karl Germain
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MagicJuggler
Special user
Anchorage, AK
918 Posts
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Posted: Mar 28, 2012 6:43am
There are also some easy tricks with string or rope that might be useful. But I agree, magic books aimed at children or complete beginners are the best source for finding material that will suit your needs. Great thing is you can often find them in a normal book store (As this is almost the only kind of magic book they carry in regular book stores) though I seem to find more and better magic books at used book stores rather than the mega-chain stores.
Matthew Olsen
www.mattolsenmagic.com
I heard from a friend that anecdotal evidence is actually quite reliable.
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