Search Results
Showing results 1 to 20 of 28
Splitting White Light
Source Institutions
In this optics activity, learners split white light into all its component colors using three household items: a compact disc, dishwashing liquid, and a hose (outside).
The Bent Pencil
Source Institutions
In this optics activity, learners explore how light bends and affects what we see.

Make Money Appear Before Your Eyes
Source Institutions
In this optics activity, learners use water to make a coin "appear" and "disappear." Use this activity to demonstrate how light refracts and introduce light as waves.

Make a Light Fountain
Source Institutions
In this optics activity, learners make a "light fountain" from a clear plastic bottle, flashlight, and other simple materials.

Bending Light
Source Institutions
In this optics activity, learners make a lens and explore how the eye manipulates the light that enters it.

CD Spectroscope
Source Institutions
In this activity, learners use an old CD to construct a spectroscope, a device that separates light into its component colors.
Mix and Match
Source Institutions
In this optics activity, learners explore color by examining color dots through colored water and the light of a flashlight.
The Ripple Tank
Source Institutions
In this optics activity, learners create a ripple tank from household materials to study waves. Learners build the tank and then explore by making various types of waves.

Oil Spot Photometer
Source Institutions
In this math activity related to light, learners assemble a photometer and use it to estimate the power output of the Sun.

Why is the Sky Blue?
Source Institutions
In this activity, learners use a flashlight, a glass of water, and some milk to examine why the sky is blue and sunsets are red.

Pinhole Magnifier
Source Institutions
In this activity related to light and perception, learners use a pinhole in an index card as a magnifying glass to help their eye focus on a nearby object.

Mirrors and Images
Source Institutions
In this optics activity, learners explore how many objects they can see in a set of mirrors (hinged like a book) at various angles.

Why Are Bubbles So Colorful?
Source Institutions
In this activity, learners explore why they can see colors in bubbles and why they change.

Shadow Dance
Source Institutions
In this activity, learners experiment with shadows and light sources to understand the relationship between the angle illumination and the shadow's length.

Mirror, Mirror on the Wall: Angles of Reflection
Source Institutions
In this optics activity, learners work in pairs to explore how mirrors work. Learners use tape to mark the angles needed to see each other's reflection in a wall mirror.

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.

The Blind Spot
Source Institutions
In this activity (1st on the page), learners find their blind spot--the area on the retina without receptors that respond to light.

Telescopes as Time Machines
Source Institutions
This fun, nighttime hands-on astronomy activity lets learners explore how long it takes for light from different objects in the universe to reach Earth.

The Senses of "Unknown Creatures"
Source Institutions
In this activity, learners use earthworms as "unknown creatures" from the South American jungle to find out how animals use senses.

Blind Spot
Source Institutions
In this activity, learners conduct a simple test to find their blind spot.