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In this activity about electricity, learners imagine that they are out in the wilderness and it is getting dark. Their task is to use the materials supplied to build a simple flashlight.

In this activity, learners explore the relative efficiency of different bulbs, specifically incandescent vs. fluorescent.

In this activity, learners explore how polarizing sunglasses can help diminish road glare.

In this activity, learners use a laser pointer, empty soda bottle, rubber plug and water to demonstrate total internal reflection.

In this two-part activity, learners explore the properties of liquid crystals, which are responsible for why mood rings change color.

In this activity, learners investigate how some butterfly wings get their color.

In this activity related to nanotechnology, learners observe some of the effects that result from creating a thin layer of material several nanometers thick.

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.

Make a kite out of a garbage bag, shower curtain, painting tarp--anything light, thin, flexible and plastic!

In this activity, learners test the Law of Reflection based on experimental evidence. Learners produce raw data and explanations based on their data: pencil tracings of incident and reflection rays.

Have you ever heard of a camera without a lens? In this activity, learners create a pinhole camera out of simple materials. They'll see the world in a whole new way: upside down and backwards!

In this activity, Frankenstein's lab is running out of electricity! Learners use fruit to help Igor find a temporary source of energy to turn on a light.

This is a quick activity (on page 2 of the PDF under Butterfly Wings Activity) that illustrates how nanoscale structures, so small they're practically invisible, can produce visible/colorful effects.

In this activity (posted on March 20, 2011), learners follow the steps to construct a stroboscope, a device that exploits the persistence of vision to make moving objects appear slow or stationary.

In this activity, learners make optical fibers out of strips of gelatin.

Learners make a circuit board that has questions and answers. When the correct answer is chosen for a question, a circuit is completed and a light illuminates.

Learners create an electrical-circuit maze out of wire, then try to pass a paperclip through the maze without touching the wire.

Whether it's the genetic code, an ancient language, or patterns of light in a distant galaxy, scientists often have to play the role of decoder.

Learners experiment with a commercially available liquid-crystal coaster. They warm the material with their hands for varying lengths of time and observe the changing colors that result.