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See the Light
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In this three-part activity, learners conduct simple experiments to see how light refracts and reflects, and how colors of light affect what we see.
Mix-N-Match Light
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This is an online exhibit about color perception. Learners set a random background color and then try to mix red, blue, and green light to match.
Spectroscope
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In this activity (posted on March 12, 2011), learners follow the steps to construct a spectroscope, a tool used to analyze light and color.
Laser Jello
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In this activity, learners use gelatin as a lens to investigate the properties of laser light.
CD Spectroscope
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In this activity, learners use an old CD to construct a spectroscope, a device that separates light into its component colors.
Your Father's Nose
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In this fun optics activity, learners explore principles of light, reflection (mirrors), and perception. Learners work in pairs and sit on opposite sides of a "two-way" mirror.
Rotating Light
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In this activity, learners explore what happens when polarized white light passes through a sugar solution.
Inverse Square Law
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In this math activity related to light, learners explore why a light, such as a candle or a streetlight, looks dimmer the farther away from it we get.
Soap-Film Interference Model: Get on our wavelength!
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By making models of light waves with paper, learners can understand why different colors appear in bubbles.
CD Spectrometer
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In this activity, learners use a compact disc to make a spectrometer, an instrument used to measure properties of light.
Give and Take
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In this activity, learners explore liquid crystals, light and temperature. Using a postcard made of temperature-sensitive liquid crystal material, learners monitor temperature changes.
On the Fringe (formerly Bridge Light)
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In this activity, learners trap a thin layer of air between two pieces of Plexiglas to produce rainbow-colored interference patterns.
Morphing Butterfly
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In this activity, learners explore how nanosized structures can create brilliant color.
Convection Current
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In this activity, learners make their own heat waves in an aquarium.
Colored Shadows
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In this optics activity, learners discover that not all shadows are black. Learners explore human color perception by using colored lights to make additive color mixtures.
The Geophysical Light/Dark Cycle
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This is an activity (located on page 131 of the PDF) related to sleep and circadian rhythms as well as space travel.
Diffraction
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In this optics activity, demonstrate diffraction using a candle or a small bright flashlight bulb and a slide made with two pencils.
Glow Up
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In this activity, learners explore chemiluminescence and fluorescence. Learners examine 3 different solutions in regular light, in the dark with added bleach solution, and under a black light.
Dark Adaptation
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In this activity (6th on the page), learners investigate how photoreceptors in the eye (rods and cones) "adapt" to low light conditions.
Globe at Night
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In this international citizen science activity, learners measure their night sky brightness and submit their observations into an online database.