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

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 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.

In this activity (posted on March 14, 2011), learners follow the steps to construct a camera projector to explore lenses and refraction.

In this activity, learners explore ray optics. Learners discover that they can use a magnifying glass to create an upside-down image.

In this activity, learners construct a projector out of cardboard to view their favorite images (such as storybook illustrations) on the wall.

In this activity, learners make optical fibers out of strips of gelatin.

In this activity, learners construct a device that projects images onto a surface, so they can trace landscapes and other sights.

This is a series of three quick science activities to do with a spoon, knife, and fork. In the first two activities, learners use the flatware to explore optics, mirrors, reflection, and distortion.

In this quick activity, Dracula has a hole in his house and learners help solve the problem by using a mirror and protractor to reflect incoming light out of his house.

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!