Search Results


Showing results 1 to 20 of 26

Source Institutions
Add to list Details
In this activity, learners will explore light with reflective surfaces. Learners will make predictions and share their observations as they experiment with directing a beam of light.

$1 - $5 per group Ages 4 - adult 10 to 30 minutes
Source Institutions
Add to list Details
This is an activity about the behavior of light. Using simple, everyday objects, learners will discover that light moves in straight lines until acted upon by another object.

$1 - $5 per student Ages 8 - 11 10 to 30 minutes
Source Institutions
Add to list Details
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.

$1 - $5 per group Ages 4 - 14 45 to 60 minutes
Source Institutions
Add to list Details
Did you know that using a lens one can bend light to make pictures of the world? It's true!

$1 - $5 per student Ages 4 - 11 10 to 30 minutes
Source Institutions
Add to list Details
With little more than a flashlight, a straw, and a plastic lid, make an observatory so you can see the amazing colors in bubbles.

$1 - $5 per student Ages 4 - 11 5 to 10 minutes
Source Institutions
Add to list Details
In this activity, learners use tonic water to detect ultraviolet (UV) light from the Sun and explore the concept of fluorescence.

$1 - $5 per group Ages 6 - adult 5 to 10 minutes
Source Institutions
Add to list Details
This resource contains several mini-explorations using a slide projector as a light source to investigate light and the properties of images.

$1 - $5 per group Ages 8 - 14 30 to 45 minutes
Source Institutions
Add to list Details
In this activity, learners trap a thin layer of air between two pieces of Plexiglas to produce rainbow-colored interference patterns.

$1 - $5 per student Ages 8 - 18 10 to 30 minutes
Source Institutions
Add to list Details
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.

$1 - $5 per group Ages 8 - 18 5 to 10 minutes
Source Institutions
Add to list Details
In this activity, learners will make their own prism and use a glass of water to separate sunlight into different colors.

$1 - $5 per group Ages 8 - adult 5 to 10 minutes
Source Institutions
Add to list Details
This activity provides instructions for building a mirrored tube--a smaller and simpler version of a submarine's periscope--that lets you see around corners and over walls.

$1 - $5 per student Ages 6 - 14 10 to 30 minutes
Source Institutions
Add to list Details
In this activity (on page 2 of the PDF under GPS: Light and Color Activity), learners will see the illusion of colors produced by a rotating black and white image known as Benham’s Disk.

$1 - $5 per group Ages 8 - 14 45 to 60 minutes
Source Institutions
Add to list Details
In this quick optics activity, learners use a dim point of light (a disassembled Mini MagLite and dowel set-up) to cast a shadow of the blood supply in their retina onto the retina itself.

$1 - $5 per student Ages 8 - 14 Under 5 minutes
Add to list Details
Learners use simple materials to construct a model the Big Dipper. Learners hang the model from a doorway or ceiling and look up at it to see the constellation as seen from Earth.

$1 - $5 per student Ages 8 - 18 30 to 45 minutes
Source Institutions
Add to list Details
In this hands-on activity, learners build their own kaleidoscopes and explore how light can reflect of off surfaces such as mirrors, to produce beautiful patterns.

$1 - $5 per group Ages 6 - 11 30 to 45 minutes
Source Institutions
Add to list Details
In this activity, learners make their own pinhole viewer in order to measure the size of the sun.

$1 - $5 per group Ages 8 - adult 10 to 30 minutes
Source Institutions
Add to list Details
In this activity about magnetism (page 17 of the pdf), learners experiment with magnets, exploring the concept of diamagnetic materials by seeing how a grape reacts to a magnetic field.

$1 - $5 per group Ages 6 - 11 10 to 30 minutes
Source Institutions
Add to list Details
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.

$1 - $5 per student Ages 8 - 18 10 to 30 minutes
Source Institutions
Add to list Details
In this activity, learners will create an optical illusion top. Learners will explore color mixing, physics and design through this activity.

$1 - $5 per student Ages 4 - 14 10 to 30 minutes
Source Institutions
Add to list Details
An ordinary camera has a lens that makes an image on film. In a pinhole camera, a small hole replaces the lens.

$1 - $5 per student Ages 6 - 18 10 to 30 minutes