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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.

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

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.

In this activity, learners investigate color vision as well as plan and conduct their own experiments.

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.

In this activity, learners conduct a simple test to find their blind spot.

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

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.

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

In this activity about light and reflection, learners use a special device called a Mirage Maker™ to create an illusion.

In this activity related to light and perception, learners use a pinhole in an index card as a magnifying glass to help their eye focus on a nearby object.

In this activity, learners use a simple trick of perspective to dress friends in tiny cutout clothing. Learners make tiny pants out of card stock and tape them to the end of a stick.

In this activity, learners play with a fuzzy-colored dot that has no distinct edges seems to disappear. As learners stare at the dot, its color appears to blend with the colors surrounding it.

In this activity, learners investigate parallax, a method used to measure distances to stars and planets in the solar system.

In this activity, learners investigate visual perception as well as plan and conduct their own experiments.

In this activity, learners construct three optical illusion toys to examine how our brains play tricks on what we see.

In this activity about light and perception, learners create and observe moire patterns.

In this online activity, learners make a whole rainbow by mixing red, green, and blue light. They can change the wavelength of a monochromatic beam or they can filter white light.

In this activity (posted on March 20, 2011), learners follow the steps to construct a stroboscope, a device that exploits the persistence of vision to make moving objects appear slow or stationary.

In this activity, learners explore how mirrors reflect light and change the way we see things.