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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.

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

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.

Magic Wand
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In this activity about light and perception, learners create pictures in thin air.

Far-Out Corners
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Are there boxes, is this an illusion, or is this real life Q-bert? Illusions are always fun to build especially when you can build them.

Depth Spinner
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Experience a spinning spiral...you won't be hypnotized, but you'll see what happens when you look away. It's like getting off a merry-go-round and everything keeps moving.

Bird in the Cage
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In this activity about afterimages, learners explore what happens when receptor cells called cones in your eye's retina get tired.

Fading Dot
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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.

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

Lateral Inhibition
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Which one of your eyes are dominant? Do they act independently or are they equally "in control?" This activity explores how your eyes work (or don't work) together.

Giant Lens
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In this activity about light and refraction, learners discover how a lens creates an image that hangs in midair.

Afterimage
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In this activity about light and perception, learners discover how a flash of light can create a lingering image called an "afterimage" on the retina of the eye.

Gray Step
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In this activity, learners discover that it's difficult to distinguish between two different shades of gray when they aren't separated by a boundary.

Sliding Gray Step
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How can you make one shade of gray look like two? By putting it against two different color backgrounds! This activity allows learners to perform this sleight of hand very easily.

Seeing Your Blind Spot
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This activity (aka "snack") provides instructions for discovering your blind spot. It is an exploration of light and visual perception using simple materials you may have around the house.

Pinhole Magnifier
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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.

Disappearing Act
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Make a camouflage cut-out animal! Using patterned paper or magazine pictures from around the house, use your craft skills to make a paper animal that blends into its background.

Spinning Cylinder: Make a triangle appear on a spinning wheel
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Spin a short piece of PVC pipe that's been marked up, and watch a triangle appear. Enjoy this optical illusion from the Exploratorium's Science Snack series.

Whirling Watcher: Make a Stroboscope
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In this activity, learners make a stroboscope--a spinning disk with slits around the edge that you look through.

Mix-N-Match Light
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This is an online exhibit about color perception. Learners set a random background color and then try to mix red, blue, and green light to match.