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Stretch the Chain and See the Light
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In this activity, learners use their strength to light a light bulb. A chain made from paper clips is placed in series with a battery and flashlight bulb.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Oil Spot Photometer
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In this math activity related to light, learners assemble a photometer and use it to estimate the power output of the Sun.
Convection Current
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In this activity, learners make their own heat waves in an aquarium.
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.
Lagging Sound
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In this group activity, learners see and hear the speed of sound. A learner designated the "gonger" hits a gong, once every second, as the rest of the group watches and listens from a distance.
Illuminations on Rates of Reactions
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In this activity, learners investigate the speed of chemical reactions with light sticks. Learners discover that reactions can be sped up or slowed down due to temperature changes.
Afterimage
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In this activity about light and perception, learners discover how a flash of light can create a lingering image called an "afterimage" on the retina of the eye.
Critical Angle
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In this optics activity, learners examine how a transparent material such as glass or water can actually reflect light better than any mirror.
Aluminum-Air Battery: Foiled again!
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Construct a simple battery that's able to power a small light or motor out of foil, salt water, and charcoal. A helpful video, produced by the Exploratorium, guides you along on this activity.
Pringles Pinhole Camera
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An ordinary camera has a lens that makes an image on film. In a pinhole camera, a small hole replaces the lens.
CD Spinner
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In this activity, learners create a simple “top” from a CD, marble and bottle cap, and use it as a spinning platform for a variety of illusion-generating patterns.
Falling Feather
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In this physics activity, learners recreate Galileo's famous experiment, in which he dropped a heavy weight and a light weight from the top of the Leaning Tower of Pisa to show that both weights fall
Penny Battery
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In this activity, learners light an LED with five cents. Learners use two different metals and some sour, salty water to create a cheap battery.