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What Causes Rainbows?
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In this activity, learners explore how and why rainbows form by creating rainbows in a variety of ways using simple materials. Learners create rainbows indoors and outdoors.

Night Eyes
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In this outdoor, night-time activity, learners discover how to spot eye-shine (reflection of light from an animal's eyes) by using a flashlight to play a simulation game.

Sun Prints
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This activity uses a special paper that can create images with exposure to the Sun. Collect objects of different shapes and sizes and use them to make interesting patterns on your sun print.

Changing Shadows
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In this sunny day, outdoor activity, learners observe changes in shadows over time. The activity also helps to develop a sense of the Earth's motion.

Exploring Ultraviolet (UV) light from the Sun
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In this outdoor activity, learners explore UV rays from the Sun and ways to protect against these potentially harmful rays.

Terrestrial Hi-Lo Hunt
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In this outdoor activity, learners search for the warmest and coolest, windiest and calmest, wettest and driest, and brightest and darkest spots in an area.

Sensory Hi-Lo Hunt
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In this outdoor activity, learners use only their senses to to find the extremes of several environmental variables or physical factors: wind, temperature, light, slope and moisture.

Wintergreen
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In this outdoor, winter activity, learners find living green plants under the snow and determine the light and temperature conditions around the plants.
Glowing Tonic
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In this sunny day activity, learners compare how a cup of water and a cup of tonic water reflect or refract light in the sun.

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

Make a Green Gumball Black
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In this optics activity, learners use a shoebox, colored cellophane and sunlight to "change" the colors of gumballs. Learners will be surprised when the green and blue gumballs appear black!

Solar Powered Cooking
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In this activity, learners make a solar oven. Learners witness the awesome power of the sun to make a yummy treat--a chocolate chip cookie!

Standing in the Shadow of Earth
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This fun and simple hands-on astronomy activity demonstrates the shadow of the Earth as it rises as a dark blue shadow above the eastern horizon.
Splitting White Light
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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).

Finding the Size of the Sun and Moon
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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.

How to View a Solar Eclipse
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This is an activity to do when there is a solar eclipse!

Make a UV Detector
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In this activity, learners use tonic water to detect ultraviolet (UV) light from the Sun and explore the concept of fluorescence.

Personal Pinhole Theater
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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!

Bring it into Focus
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In this activity (page 2 of PDF), learners play with a lens and a piece of paper to focus an image on the paper. Learners look at different things, and see how the lenses affect the image.

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