Search Results
Showing results 1 to 20 of 27
Mirrors and Images
Source Institutions
In this optics activity, learners explore how many objects they can see in a set of mirrors (hinged like a book) at various angles.
CD Spectroscope
Source Institutions
In this activity, learners use an old CD to construct a spectroscope, a device that separates light into its component colors.
Pinhole Viewer
Source Institutions
In this activity, learners discuss and investigate how cameras, telescopes, and their own eyes use light in similar ways.
Film Canister Farming
Source Institutions
In this hands-on botany activity, learners sprout vegetables in film canisters.
The Ripple Tank
Source Institutions
In this optics activity, learners create a ripple tank from household materials to study waves. Learners build the tank and then explore by making various types of waves.
Mix and Match
Source Institutions
In this optics activity, learners explore color by examining color dots through colored water and the light of a flashlight.
The Bent Pencil
Source Institutions
In this optics activity, learners explore how light bends and affects what we see.
Why Are Bubbles So Colorful?
Source Institutions
In this activity, learners explore why they can see colors in bubbles and why they change.
Mirror, Mirror on the Wall: Angles of Reflection
Source Institutions
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.
Critical Angle
Source Institutions
In this optics activity, learners examine how a transparent material such as glass or water can actually reflect light better than any mirror.
The Blind Spot
Source Institutions
In this activity (1st on the page), learners find their blind spot--the area on the retina without receptors that respond to light.
Vanishing Rods
Source Institutions
This is a quick activity/demonstration that introduces learners to the concept of index of refraction. Learners place stirring rods in a jar of water and notice they can see them clearly.
Make a Light Fountain
Source Institutions
In this optics activity, learners make a "light fountain" from a clear plastic bottle, flashlight, and other simple materials.
Soap-Film Interference Model: Get on our wavelength!
Source Institutions
By making models of light waves with paper, learners can understand why different colors appear in bubbles.
Mini Zoetrope
Source Institutions
In this activity (posted on March 27, 2011), learners follow the steps to construct a mini zoetrope, a device that produces an illusion of action from a rapid succession of static pictures.
What Causes Rainbows?
Source Institutions
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.
Disappearing Glass Rods
Source Institutions
In this optics activity, learners discover how they can make glass objects "disappear." Learners submerge glass objects like stirring rods into a beaker of Wesson™ oil to explore how the principles of
Transparent Gelatin
Source Institutions
In this optics activity, learners explore how they can make gelatin stop light, but not stop them from seeing fruit suspended within.
Splitting White Light
Source Institutions
In this optics activity, learners split white light into all its component colors using three household items: a compact disc, dishwashing liquid, and a hose (outside).
Afterimage
Source Institutions
In this activity about vision and optical illusions, learners conduct a simple test to demonstrate how our eyes create "afterimages." Learners stare at a black cardboard bat for at least 30 seconds an