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Iridescent Art
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This is a quick activity (on page 2 of the PDF under Butterfly Wings Activity) that illustrates how nanoscale structures, so small they're practically invisible, can produce visible/colorful effects.

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.

Night Lights
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In this activity, learners create night lights using a plastic cup, programmable PICO Cricket, tri-color LED, and sensor.

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.

Mirror, Mirror
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In this activity, learners test the Law of Reflection based on experimental evidence. Learners produce raw data and explanations based on their data: pencil tracings of incident and reflection rays.

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.

Personal Pinhole Theater
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Have you ever heard of a camera without a lens? In this activity, learners create a pinhole camera out of simple materials. They'll see the world in a whole new way: upside down and backwards!

Give and Take
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In this activity, learners explore liquid crystals, light and temperature. Using a postcard made of temperature-sensitive liquid crystal material, learners monitor temperature changes.

Finding the Size of the Sun and Moon
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In this activity, learners build a simple pinhole viewer. They use this apparatus to project images from a variety of light sources, including a candle, the Sun, and the Moon.

Liquid Crystals Interact with Light!
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In this two-part activity, learners explore the properties of liquid crystals, which are responsible for why mood rings change color.

Rainbow Film
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In this activity, learners use clear nail polish to create a beautiful iridescent pattern on black paper. Learners discover that a thin film creates iridescent, rainbow colors.

Polarized Sunglasses
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In this activity, learners explore how polarizing sunglasses can help diminish road glare.

Shimmering Lenses
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In this activity, learners use Jell-O to explore lenses. Learners cut Jell-O into convex and concave lens shapes and examine how light exits each lens in a darkened room.
Gelatin Optic Fibers
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In this activity, learners make optical fibers out of strips of gelatin.
Triboluminescence
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In this activity, learners discover what happens when they crush wintergreen-flavored candies in a very dark room.

X-Ray Spectra
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In this activity, learners use simple materials to simulate the effect of X-rays in a safe way. Learners place a piece of window screen over a box and a cardboard pattern on top of the screen.

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.

Gelatin Prism
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In this activity, learners make prisms from gelatin. Learners then shine light through the prisms and discover what happens. This activity introduces learners to the idea of refraction.