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Seeing 3D
Source Institutions
Create 3D glasses and use them to explore color, light and optics. Fool your brain into 'seeing' three dimensions on a flat surface!

Shark Sense of Smell
Source Institutions
This is an activity about our sense of smell and how it compares to sharks' super noses. Learners will create varying solutions of water and perfume.

Your Father's Nose
Source Institutions
In this fun optics activity, learners explore principles of light, reflection (mirrors), and perception. Learners work in pairs and sit on opposite sides of a "two-way" mirror.

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.

Tiny Pants Photo Challenge
Source Institutions
In this activity, learners use a simple trick of perspective to dress friends in tiny cutout clothing. Learners make tiny pants out of card stock and tape them to the end of a stick.

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

Fading Dot
Source Institutions
In this activity, learners play with a fuzzy-colored dot that has no distinct edges seems to disappear. As learners stare at the dot, its color appears to blend with the colors surrounding it.

Thaumatrope Illusion
Source Institutions
Design and create an optical illusion toy that makes two pictures appear to become one. This is called a thaumatrope and will allow the learner to investigate the phenomenon of persistence of vision.

Bird in the Cage
Source Institutions
In this activity about afterimages, learners explore what happens when receptor cells called cones in your eye's retina get tired.

Mix-N-Match Light
Source Institutions
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.

Big Sun, Small Moon
Source Institutions
Learners will explore the concept of angular distance, and investigate why the moon appears to be the same size as the sun during a solar eclipse, despite the sun being much larger.

Thread the Needle: Using Two Eyes Gives You Depth Perception
Source Institutions
Closing one eye eliminates one of the clues that your brain uses to judge depth. Trying to perform a simple task with one eye closed demonstrates how much you rely on your depth perception.

Cafe Wall Illusion
Source Institutions
In this fun and interactive online exhibit, the straight lines of a tile wall appear to curve. The learner moves the rows of tiles and changes the color of the grout to achieve the intriguing effect.

Colored Shadows
Source Institutions
In this optics activity, learners discover that not all shadows are black. Learners explore human color perception by using colored lights to make additive color mixtures.

Cutify: What Makes for Cute?
Source Institutions
In this online activity exploring our perception of "cuteness," learners adjust various factors (like pupil size or length of limbs) on a face, a cat, and a hammer.

Color Contrast
Source Institutions
Do you have a hard time matching paint swatches with your furniture? When you consider human perception, color is context dependent.

Michelle O (formerly Vanna)
Source Institutions
We don't normally view people upside down and so our brains aren't accustomed to it.

Circles or Ovals?
Source Institutions
This science activity demonstrates the dominant eye phenomena. What does your brain do when it sees two images that conflict?

Mirror, Mirror
Source Institutions
In this activity, learners discover that it is difficult to trace a curve by using its reflection in a mirror. Use this activity to discuss how the brain works.

Size and Distance
Source Institutions
In this activity about depth perception, learners create an optical illusion in a shoe box.