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In this activity, learners create a simple “top” from a CD, marble and bottle cap, and use it as a spinning platform for a variety of illusion-generating patterns.

In this activity, learners will make a thaumatrope, an old-fashioned optical illusion that dates back to the 1820s.

How can you make one shade of gray look like two? By putting it against two different color backgrounds! This activity allows learners to perform this sleight of hand very easily.

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.

This is an online exhibit about color perception. Learners set a random background color and then try to mix red, blue, and green light to match.

This activity is designed to accompany the PBS documentary about African-American chemist "Percy Julian: Forgotten Genius." Learners look through two cups with small holes in them to simulate what it'

In this activity (13th on the page), learners complete a simple illusion trick to see through their own hand.

In this activity, learners make a Benham Top to explore visual illusions and optics.

In this exercise (Activity #2 on page), learners test their distance vision to evaluate their overall eyesight.

In this lab (Activity #1 on page), learners explore how we see color.

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 (6th on the page), learners investigate how photoreceptors in the eye (rods and cones) "adapt" to low light conditions.

In this activity, learners calculate the width (horizontal diameter) of the blind spot on their retina. Learners make a blind spot tester using a piece of notebook paper.

In this easy demonstration (3rd on the page), learners explore depth perception by conducting a test with two pencils.

Experience a spinning spiral...you won't be hypnotized, but you'll see what happens when you look away. It's like getting off a merry-go-round and everything keeps moving.

These two activities (4th on the page) demonstrate the importance of two eyes in judging depth.

In this activity (17th on the page), learners investigate why you cannot see colors in dim light.

In this demonstration (18th on the page), learners conduct a simple test to explore how the cornea refracts light, which is further bent by the eye lens through a process known as accommodation.

In this quick activity/demonstration (5th on the page), learners explore depth perception.

Spin a short piece of PVC pipe that's been marked up, and watch a triangle appear. Enjoy this optical illusion from the Exploratorium's Science Snack series.