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Paper Cover Up
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In this activity on page 11 of the PDF, learners use candle wax to make "invisible" designs that are revealed with watercolor paints.
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.
Bubble Tray
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In this activity, learners use simple materials to create giant bubbles.
Cylindrical Mirror
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In this activity, learners create a cylindrical mirror to see themselves as others see them.
Iridescent Art
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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.
An Ice Lens
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In this optics activity, learners discover basic lens-making techniques by using a tennis ball to make a lens out of ice.
Water Sphere Lens
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In this activity about light and refraction, learners make a lens and magnifying glass by filling a bowl with water.
Glue Stick Sunset
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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.
Kaleidoscope
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In this activity, learners build inexpensive kaleidoscopes using transparency paper and foil (instead of mirrors).
Make a Telescope
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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.
How Our Environment Affects Color Vision
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In this lab (Activity #1 on page), learners explore how we see color.
Personal Pinhole Theater
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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!
Paper Chromatography with Leaves
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In this activity on page 5 of the PDF (Plants—The Green Machines), learners use chromatography to separate and identify pigments within various leaves.
Kaleidoscope
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In this activity, learners investigate the reflective properties of light and mirrors as they make a kaleidoscope.
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.
What's the Angle?
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This activity helps learners understand how the angle of the Sun affects temperatures around the globe.
Moiré Patterns
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In this activity about light and perception, learners create and observe moire patterns.
Give and Take
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In this activity, learners explore liquid crystals, light and temperature. Using a postcard made of temperature-sensitive liquid crystal material, learners monitor temperature changes.
Benham's Disk
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In this activity, learners make a Benham Top to explore visual illusions and optics.
CD Spectrometer
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In this activity, learners use a compact disc to make a spectrometer, an instrument used to measure properties of light.