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Where is the Sun?
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In this activity, learners verify that the Sun appears in a different location at a specific time every day of the year with one exception: on the Equinoxes.
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.
Delta, Delta, Delta
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In this experiment, learners construct an equilateral triangle using graph paper, a pencil, protractor and ruler. They also make a "laser triangle" using a laser pointer and front-silvered mirrors.
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.
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.
Mirror, Mirror
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In this activity, learners test the Law of Reflection based on experimental evidence. Learners produce raw data and explanations based on their data: pencil tracings of incident and reflection rays.
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!
House Warming
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In this physical sciences activity, learners explore how passive solar design increases energy efficiency.
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.
Soda Can Mirrors
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In this activity, learners explore how pictures change in curved mirrors. Learners make cylindrical mirrors by wrapping Mylar around soda cans.
Finding the Size of the Sun and Moon
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In this activity, learners build a simple pinhole viewer. They use this apparatus to project images from a variety of light sources, including a candle, the Sun, and the Moon.
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.
Liquid Crystals Interact with Light!
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In this two-part activity, learners explore the properties of liquid crystals, which are responsible for why mood rings change color.
Rainbow Film
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In this activity, learners use clear nail polish to create a beautiful iridescent pattern on black paper. Learners discover that a thin film creates iridescent, rainbow colors.
Moonlight Serenade
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In this activity, learners act as the Earth and observe how different angles between the Sun, Earth, and Moon affect the phases of the moon we see each month.
Polarized Sunglasses
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In this activity, learners explore how polarizing sunglasses can help diminish road glare.