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Showing results 1 to 19 of 19
Make a Prism
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In this activity, learners will make their own prism and use a glass of water to separate sunlight into different colors.
Seeing Your Retina
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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.
Eye Spy
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This fun activity uses simple materials such as milk cartons and mirrors to introduce the ideas of optics and visual perception.
Up Periscope!
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This activity provides instructions for building a mirrored tube--a smaller and simpler version of a submarine's periscope--that lets you see around corners and over walls.
Opti-Top
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In this activity, learners will create an optical illusion top. Learners will explore color mixing, physics and design through this activity.
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.
Hot Air
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In this activity, learners set up an experiment to investigate the effects of hot air on the path of a laser beam.
Kaleid-o-mania
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In this hands-on activity, learners build their own kaleidoscopes and explore how light can reflect of off surfaces such as mirrors, to produce beautiful patterns.
Slide Projector Activities
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This resource contains several mini-explorations using a slide projector as a light source to investigate light and the properties of images.
Pringles Pinhole Camera
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An ordinary camera has a lens that makes an image on film. In a pinhole camera, a small hole replaces the lens.
Light Maze
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In this activity, learners will explore light with reflective surfaces. Learners will make predictions and share their observations as they experiment with directing a beam of light.
Multiple Reflections
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In this activity, learners explore how mirrors reflect light and change the way we see things.
Measure the Sun's Size
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In this activity, learners make their own pinhole viewer in order to measure the size of the sun.
Pictures From Light
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Did you know that using a lens one can bend light to make pictures of the world? It's true!
On the Fringe (formerly Bridge Light)
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In this activity, learners trap a thin layer of air between two pieces of Plexiglas to produce rainbow-colored interference patterns.
Turbidity
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This is an activity about turbidity, or the amount of sediment suspended in water.
Bubbularium: See the Colors in Bubbles
Source Institutions
With little more than a flashlight, a straw, and a plastic lid, make an observatory so you can see the amazing colors in bubbles.
The Old White Sheet Trick: Light and Insect Behavior
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In this outdoor, nighttime activity, learners gather around a brightly lit, white surface and study the behavior of nocturnal animals attracted to the light, particularly night fliers.
Tools of Magnification
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In this activity related to microbes, learners use water drops and hand lenses to begin the exploration of magnification. This activity also introduces learners to the microscope.