The Columbia Cultural Museum in Columbia, N.C., is located in an historic former movie theatre. The collection is comprised mostly of items donated from the community — including a zoetrope, a 19th century toy that was a precursor to film.
Inside the cylindrical chamber are images of a horse and jockey taken at different moments in a race. By spinning the zoetrope and looking through the slits on the side, it appears that the horse is moving. This idea that a series of images can give the impression of continuous movement set the stage for motion pictures.
