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This simple hands-on activity demonstrates why the sky appears blue on a sunny day and red during sunrise and sunset.

If you had a long tube with a 5 millimeter wide slit, would you see the entire Golden Gate Bridge?

Learners mix a solution of luminol with hydrogen peroxide to produce a reaction that gives off blue light.

Learners experiment to see which colors of light will cause a phosphorescent (glow-in-the-dark) material to glow.

In this chemistry lab activity, learners model the colors of fireworks by burning metallic solutions in a flame and observing the different colors produced.

Create an illusion where it appears that your hand has a hole in it. You'll see the results from when one eye gets conflicting information.

In this activity, learners will make homemade jello that glows under a blacklight. They will learn about quinine, an ingredient in tonic water that is fluorescent.

In this optics activity, learners make a "light fountain" from a clear plastic bottle, flashlight, and other simple materials.

In "Exploring the Universe: Exoplanet Transits," participants simulate one of the methods scientists use to discover planets orbiting distant stars.

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.

Align four color transparencies, each one a single color (cyan, magenta, yellow, and black), and see a beautiful full color image.

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.

In this optics activity, learners discover that when they rotate a special black and white pattern called a Benham's Disk, it produces the illusion of colored rings.

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.

In this activity, learners explore the relative efficiency of different bulbs, specifically incandescent vs. fluorescent.

In this activity, learners construct a device that allows them to view 2-D images in 3-D.

In this activity, learners build inexpensive kaleidoscopes using transparency paper and foil (instead of mirrors).

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.

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

In this four-part activity, learners will discover the exciting world of light--the most important form of energy in our world--and be able to identify and describe different types of light.