Search Results
Showing results 1 to 20 of 61
Seeing 3D
Source Institutions
Create 3D glasses and use them to explore color, light and optics. Fool your brain into 'seeing' three dimensions on a flat surface!
CD Spinner
Source Institutions
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.
Newspaper Collage
Source Institutions
In this activity on page 3 of the PDF, learners create a collage by using vinegar to transfer color pictures from a newspaper onto a piece of white paper.
CD Spectroscope
Source Institutions
In this activity, learners use an old CD to construct a spectroscope, a device that separates light into its component colors.
Morphing Butterfly
Source Institutions
In this activity, learners explore how nanosized structures can create brilliant color.
What is Nanotechnology?
Source Institutions
In this activity related to nanotechnology, learners observe some of the effects that result from creating a thin layer of material several nanometers thick.
Iridescent Art
Source Institutions
This is a quick activity (on page 2 of the PDF under Butterfly Wings Activity) that illustrates how nanoscale structures, so small they're practically invisible, can produce visible/colorful effects.
Shadow Dance
Source Institutions
In this activity, learners experiment with shadows and light sources to understand the relationship between the angle illumination and the shadow's length.
Universal Indicator Rainbow Trout
Source Institutions
In this activity on page 2 of the PDF, learners discover how color changes can help scientists distinguish between acids and bases.
Exploring the Universe: Pack a Space Telescope
Source Institutions
Space telescopes can offer us better, clearer views of the universe (and of our own planet) than Earth-based telescopes can, but getting these large, delicate pieces of equipment into orbit is tricky.
Polarized Light
Source Institutions
In this optics activity, learners experiment with polarizers (small dark rectangles) to examine light intensity.
Mix and Match
Source Institutions
In this optics activity, learners explore color by examining color dots through colored water and the light of a flashlight.
Why are Compact Fluorescent Bulbs More Efficient?
Source Institutions
In this activity, learners explore the relative efficiency of different bulbs, specifically incandescent vs. fluorescent.
Beam Me Up!
Source Institutions
This is a quick activity (on page 2 of the PDF under Stained Glass Activity) about the "Tyndall effect," the scattering of visible light when it hits very small dispersed particles.
Kaleidoscope
Source Institutions
In this activity, learners build inexpensive kaleidoscopes using transparency paper and foil (instead of mirrors).
Soap-Film Interference Model: Get on our wavelength!
Source Institutions
By making models of light waves with paper, learners can understand why different colors appear in bubbles.
See the World Through Color-Filtering Lenses
Source Institutions
In this activity, learners examine how colored lenses act like filters and absorb all colors of light except for the color of the lenses.
Playtime Paint
Source Institutions
In this activity on page 9 of the PDF, learners make their own paint using chalk as a pigment and glue and water as binders. This activity introduces learners to special mixtures called suspensions.
Glowing Pickle
Source Institutions
In this activity, high voltage is applied across a pickle to emit a yellow glow. This activity should only be conducted by skilled adults and is best suited as a demonstration.
Bird in the Cage
Source Institutions
In this activity about afterimages, learners explore what happens when receptor cells called cones in your eye's retina get tired.