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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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Light Soda
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In this activity, learners sublimate dry ice and then taste the carbon dioxide gas.
Personal Pinhole Theater
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Have you ever heard of a camera without a lens? In this activity, learners create a pinhole camera out of simple materials. They'll see the world in a whole new way: upside down and backwards!
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.