Search Results
Showing results 1 to 18 of 18
Rotating Light
Source Institutions
In this activity, learners explore what happens when polarized white light passes through a sugar solution.
Convection Current
Source Institutions
In this activity, learners make their own heat waves in an aquarium.
Colored Shadows
Source Institutions
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
Source Institutions
This is an activity (located on page 131 of the PDF) related to sleep and circadian rhythms as well as space travel.
Phantom Phlame
Source Institutions
In this trick, hold your hand over a burning candle without getting burned, by reflecting and transmitting the light of two candles. This activity is best suited as a demonstration.
Diffraction
Source Institutions
In this optics activity, demonstrate diffraction using a candle or a small bright flashlight bulb and a slide made with two pencils.
Bone Stress
Source Institutions
In this optics activity, learners examine how polarized light can reveal stress patterns in clear plastic.
Dark Adaptation
Source Institutions
In this activity (6th on the page), learners investigate how photoreceptors in the eye (rods and cones) "adapt" to low light conditions.
Vanishing Rods
Source Institutions
This is a quick activity/demonstration that introduces learners to the concept of index of refraction. Learners place stirring rods in a jar of water and notice they can see them clearly.
Lager Lamp
Source Institutions
In this demonstration, adult learners create a lava lamp using beer and nuts! Use this pub-themed activity to demonstrate the effects of buoyancy and bubbles.
Accommodating Accommodation
Source Institutions
In this demonstration (18th on the page), learners conduct a simple test to explore how the cornea refracts light, which is further bent by the eye lens through a process known as accommodation.
Falling Feather
Source Institutions
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
Social Fireflies: Pico "Firefly" Communication
Source Institutions
Make two firefly lanterns, then program them to blink to one another and change colors.
Our Place in Our Galaxy
Source Institutions
In this fun and simple hands-on astronomy activity, learners construct a model of our place in the Milky Way Galaxy and the distribution of stars, with a quarter and some birdseed.
The Thousand-Yard Model
Source Institutions
This is a classic exercise for visualizing the scale of the Solar System.
Clap Sensor: Build a Sound Sensor Using a Pico Cricket
Source Institutions
This activity requires a Pico Cricket (tiny computer). Learners work on designing and building a sound sensor out of household materials, like plastic wrap and cardboard.
Erupting Fizz
Source Institutions
This is a highly visual demonstration that illustrates both the effects of density and chemical reactions.
Exploring Materials: Nano Gold
Source Institutions
In this activity, learners discover that nanoparticles of gold can appear red, orange or even blue. They learn that a material can act differently when it’s nanometer-sized.