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Magic Lanterns
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A magic lantern is a light that projects an image onto a screen.

It's all Done with Mirrors
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This fun and simple hands-on astronomy activity illustrates the path of light as it reflects off of mirrors and how this is used in telescopes.

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

Reflections
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In this quick activity, Dracula has a hole in his house and learners help solve the problem by using a mirror and protractor to reflect incoming light out of his house.

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.

Changing Colors
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In this activity, learners will explore how different colors of lights interact with objects around them. Will a blue object stay blue with a red filter?

Morphing Butterfly
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In this activity, learners explore how nanosized structures can create brilliant color.

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.

The Geophysical Light/Dark Cycle
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This is an activity (located on page 131 of the PDF) related to sleep and circadian rhythms as well as space travel.

Phantom Phlame
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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
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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.
Shadow Puppets
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If you have lights, cardboard, scissors, and some brass fasteners, you can make shadow puppets! Create a story-telling and design challenge for your learners with this simple and creative activity.

Make a Prism
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In this activity, learners will make their own prism and use a glass of water to separate sunlight into different colors.

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.

Bone Stress
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In this optics activity, learners examine how polarized light can reveal stress patterns in clear plastic.

Nebula in a Jar
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In this activity, learners will build a model of a nebula using cotton balls and colored water. Astronomers photograph nebulas and add colors to provide information about the nebula's composition.

Shadow Puppets
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In this activity, learners will create their own simple shadow puppets, and experiment with light and shadow while playing with them.

Dark Adaptation
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In this activity (6th on the page), learners investigate how photoreceptors in the eye (rods and cones) "adapt" to low light conditions.

Globe at Night
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In this international citizen science activity, learners measure their night sky brightness and submit their observations into an online database.