This was a fun and simple project. It was pretty easy to build the cylinder and attach the frames. The most challenging part was how to spin it. That was solved by mounting it on an old disassembled hard disk. (It's spun by hand.)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mBWqsJzgqho

The frames are old photos taken by Eadweard Muybridge, who is well known in the history of animation.

This could be a fun project for kids. My suggestion is to draw or print frames with brighter colors. The grays in this one are harder to see through the slits. Nevertheless zoetropes look better in real life. The eyes can see the animation better than a camera.

If I decide to pursue this further, I'll make a 3D zoetrope, like the one shown at the California State Fair in 2010. There is something pretty awesome about seeing a true 3D objects in animation, not just an illusion requiring special glasses.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-rPn0a56WE