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Water Sphere Lens
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In this activity about light and refraction, learners make a lens and magnifying glass by filling a bowl with water.

Self-Portrait Silhouettes: Activity 1
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In this activity, learners make a photographic image--without a camera!

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.

Laser Jello
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In this activity, learners use gelatin as a lens to investigate the properties of laser light.

Polarized Light Mosaic
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In this activity, learners use transparent tape and polarizing material to create and project beautifully colored patterns reminiscent of abstract or geometric stained glass windows--no glass required

Three Circles of Pigments
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In this activity, learners overlap the three primary colors to see how all other colors are made.

Bronx Cheer Bulb
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In this activity, learners observe what happens when they give a light source like a neon glow lamp a "Bronx Cheer." The lights appear to wiggle back and forth and flicker when learners blow air throu

Glue Stick Sunset
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In this activity, learners explore why the sky is blue. Learners model the scattering of light by the atmosphere, which creates the blue sky and red sunset, using a flashlight and clear glue sticks.

Parabolas: It's All Done with Mirrors
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In this activity about light and reflection, learners use a special device called a Mirage Maker™ to create an illusion.

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.

Blue Sky
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In this optics activity, learners explore why the sky is blue and the sunset is red, using a simple setup comprising a transparent plastic box, water, and powdered milk.

Pixel Tube
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In this STEAM activity, learners create a "pixel tube" to explore reflections of light and color mixing.

Slide Projector Activities
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This resource contains several mini-explorations using a slide projector as a light source to investigate light and the properties of images.

Self-Portrait Silhouettes: Activity 2
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In this activity, learners make a photographic image—without a camera!

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.