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The Old White Sheet Trick: Light and Insect Behavior
Source Institutions
In this outdoor, nighttime activity, learners gather around a brightly lit, white surface and study the behavior of nocturnal animals attracted to the light, particularly night fliers.
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Make a Green Gumball Black
Source Institutions
In this optics activity, learners use a shoebox, colored cellophane and sunlight to "change" the colors of gumballs. Learners will be surprised when the green and blue gumballs appear black!
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Make a UV Detector
Source Institutions
In this activity, learners use tonic water to detect ultraviolet (UV) light from the Sun and explore the concept of fluorescence.
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First Impressions
Source Institutions
Learners experiment with a commercial photo-sensitive paper (Sunprint® or NaturePrint® paper). They place opaque and clear objects on the paper and expose it to bright light, observing the results.
Glowing Tonic
Source Institutions
In this sunny day activity, learners compare how a cup of water and a cup of tonic water reflect or refract light in the sun.
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Observing Insects at Night
Source Institutions
In this activity, learners set up a night time insect observation station with a light and sheet.
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Light is Made of Colors
Source Institutions
Learners observe different light sources, outdoors and indoors, using prism glasses (diffraction glasses) and color filters.
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Self-Portrait Silhouettes: Activity 2
Source Institutions
In this activity, learners make a photographic image—without a camera!
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Globe at Night
Source Institutions
In this international citizen science activity, learners measure their night sky brightness and submit their observations into an online database.
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Why Are Bubbles So Colorful?
Source Institutions
In this activity, learners explore why they can see colors in bubbles and why they change.
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Finding the Size of the Sun and Moon
Source Institutions
In this activity, learners build a simple pinhole viewer. They use this apparatus to project images from a variety of light sources, including a candle, the Sun, and the Moon.
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Make a Garbage Bag Kite
Source Institutions
Make a kite out of a garbage bag, shower curtain, painting tarp--anything light, thin, flexible and plastic!
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Exploring Ultraviolet (UV) light from the Sun
Source Institutions
In this outdoor activity, learners explore UV rays from the Sun and ways to protect against these potentially harmful rays.
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Sensory Hi-Lo Hunt
Source Institutions
In this outdoor activity, learners use only their senses to to find the extremes of several environmental variables or physical factors: wind, temperature, light, slope and moisture.
What Causes Rainbows?
Source Institutions
In this activity, learners explore how and why rainbows form by creating rainbows in a variety of ways using simple materials. Learners create rainbows indoors and outdoors.
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Pringles Pinhole Camera
Source Institutions
An ordinary camera has a lens that makes an image on film. In a pinhole camera, a small hole replaces the lens.
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Observing the Moon
Source Institutions
Use this Moon Map Guide to help learners identify features on the Moon, while looking through a telescope.
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Sun Prints
Source Institutions
This activity uses a special paper that can create images with exposure to the Sun. Collect objects of different shapes and sizes and use them to make interesting patterns on your sun print.
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Bring it into Focus
Source Institutions
In this activity (page 2 of PDF), learners play with a lens and a piece of paper to focus an image on the paper. Learners look at different things, and see how the lenses affect the image.
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The Thousand-Yard Model
Source Institutions
This is a classic exercise for visualizing the scale of the Solar System.