Search Results

In this activity, learners discover that nanoparticles of gold can appear red, orange or even blue. They learn that a material can act differently when it’s nanometer-sized.

In this activity on page 11 of the PDF, learners use candle wax to make "invisible" designs that are revealed with watercolor paints.

In this activity, learners use a flexible magnet as a model for a scanning probe microscope (SPM). They learn that SPMs are an example of a special tool that scientists use to work on the nanoscale.

In this simple activity, learners investigate refraction by placing a picture of an arrow behind a glass of water.

Like water drops in falling rain, a CD separates white light into all the colors that make it up.

In this activity, learners will make their own prism and use a glass of water to separate sunlight into different colors.

In this activity, learners create a colorful bookmark using a super thin layer of nail polish on water. Learners discover that a thin film creates iridescent, rainbow colors.

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.

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.

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.

In this optics activity, learners explore how light bends and affects what we see.

Learners use two mirrors to explore how images of images of images can repeat forever.

“Exploring Earth: Investigating Clouds” is a hands-on activity in which visitors create a cloud in a bottle and explore it with laser light.

In this activity, learners explore why they can see colors in bubbles and why they change.

The beautiful iridescent colors of a bubble in a can! With this Exploratorium Science Snack, create beautiful soap films on the open end of a can to see beautiful rainbows of color.

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 (12th on the page), learners investigate their ability to discriminate (see) different colors.

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

"Exploring the Universe: Filtered Light" demonstrates how scientists can use telescopes and other tools to capture and filter different energies of light to study the universe.

In this optics activity, learners make a simple telescope using two lenses and a cardboard tube. Learners construct the telescope and then calculate its magnification.