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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.

In this activity, learners explore why the sky is blue. Learners model the scattering of light by the atmosphere, which creates the blue sky and red sunset, using a flashlight and clear glue sticks.

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.

In this optics activity, learners experiment with polarizers (small dark rectangles) to examine light intensity.

In this activity, learners explore the invisible infrared radiation from an electric heater.

In this optics activity, learners explore color by examining color dots through colored water and the light of a flashlight.

In this optics activity, learners explore how light bends and affects what we see.

In this four-part activity, learners will discover the exciting world of light--the most important form of energy in our world--and be able to identify and describe different types of light.

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

This is a quick activity (on page 2 of the PDF under Stained Glass Activity) about the "Tyndall effect," the scattering of visible light when it hits very small dispersed particles.

In this optics activity, learners examine how a transparent material such as glass or water can actually reflect light better than any mirror.

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

In this activity, learners build inexpensive kaleidoscopes using transparency paper and foil (instead of mirrors).

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.

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

By making models of light waves with paper, learners can understand why different colors appear in bubbles.

In this pencil and paper activity, learners work in pairs and simulate how astronomical spacecraft and computers create images of objects in space.

In this three-part activity, learners conduct simple experiments to see how light refracts and reflects, and how colors of light affect what we see.

In this optics activity, demonstrate diffraction using a candle or a small bright flashlight bulb and a slide made with two pencils.

In this activity (posted on March 27, 2011), learners follow the steps to construct a mini zoetrope, a device that produces an illusion of action from a rapid succession of static pictures.