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CD Spinner
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In this activity, learners create a simple “top” from a CD, marble and bottle cap, and use it as a spinning platform for a variety of illusion-generating patterns.

Rotating Light
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In this activity, learners explore what happens when polarized white light passes through a sugar solution.

Touch the Spring (Lightbulb)
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In this activity, a lightbulb is placed in front of a concave mirror. The actual lightbulb is not visible to the viewer, but the viewer can see the mirror image of the lightbulb formed in space.

Spherical Reflections
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In this art meets science activity, learners pack silver, ball-shaped ornaments in a single layer in a box to create an array of spherical reflectors.

Bubble Tray
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In this activity, learners use simple materials to create giant bubbles.

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

Cylindrical Mirror
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In this activity, learners create a cylindrical mirror to see themselves as others see them.

Film Canister Farming
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In this hands-on botany activity, learners sprout vegetables in film canisters.

Water Sphere Lens
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In this activity about light and refraction, learners make a lens and magnifying glass by filling a bowl with water.

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.

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.

Hot Spot
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In this activity, learners explore the invisible infrared radiation from an electric heater.

Critical Angle
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In this optics activity, learners examine how a transparent material such as glass or water can actually reflect light better than any mirror.

Soap-Film Interference Model: Get on our wavelength!
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By making models of light waves with paper, learners can understand why different colors appear in bubbles.

Diffraction
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In this optics activity, demonstrate diffraction using a candle or a small bright flashlight bulb and a slide made with two pencils.

Glow Up
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In this activity, learners explore chemiluminescence and fluorescence. Learners examine 3 different solutions in regular light, in the dark with added bleach solution, and under a black light.

Corner Reflector
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In this optics/mathematics activity, learners use two hinged mirrors to create a kaleidoscope that shows multiple images of an object.

Convection Current
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In this activity, learners make their own heat waves in an aquarium.

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.

Disappearing Glass Rods
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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