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Bronx Cheer Bulb
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In this activity, learners observe what happens when they give a light source like a neon glow lamp a "Bronx Cheer." The lights appear to wiggle back and forth and flicker when learners blow air throu
Soap-Film Painting
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Make a big canvas of iridescent color with pvc pipe! In this Exploratorium Science Snack, you'll need to cut and assemble some PVC pipe, but the pay-off, the soap-bubble canvas, is big.
Glue Stick Sunset
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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.
The Bent Pencil
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In this optics activity, learners explore how light bends and affects what we see.
Look Into Infinity
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Learners use two mirrors to explore how images of images of images can repeat forever.
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.
Mirror, Mirror on the Wall: Angles of Reflection
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In this optics activity, learners work in pairs to explore how mirrors work. Learners use tape to mark the angles needed to see each other's reflection in a wall mirror.
Make a Light Fountain
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In this optics activity, learners make a "light fountain" from a clear plastic bottle, flashlight, and other simple materials.
Parabolas: It's All Done with Mirrors
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In this activity about light and reflection, learners use a special device called a Mirage Maker™ to create an illusion.
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.
Mirrorly a Window
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In this activity about light and reflection, learners discover that what you see is often affected by what you expect to see.
Transparent Gelatin
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In this optics activity, learners explore how they can make gelatin stop light, but not stop them from seeing fruit suspended within.
Color Contrast
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Do you have a hard time matching paint swatches with your furniture? When you consider human perception, color is context dependent.
Bone Stress
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In this optics activity, learners examine how polarized light can reveal stress patterns in clear plastic.
Phantom Phlame
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In this trick, hold your hand over a burning candle without getting burned, by reflecting and transmitting the light of two candles. This activity is best suited as a demonstration.
Diffraction Between Wax Blocks
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In this optics activity, learners explore diffraction by adding wax blocks to a ripple tank. The wedge-shaped blocks act as obstacles that the wave must bend around.
Color Table: Color your perception
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Look at pictures through different color filters and you'll see them in a new way. People have used color filters in beautiful photography or sending secret messages.
Gray Step
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In this activity, learners discover that it's difficult to distinguish between two different shades of gray when they aren't separated by a boundary.
It's all Done with Mirrors
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This fun and simple hands-on astronomy activity illustrates the path of light as it reflects off of mirrors and how this is used in telescopes.
Bending Light
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In this optics activity, learners make a lens and explore how the eye manipulates the light that enters it.