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Soap Bubble Shapes
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Learners explore three-dimensional geometric frames including cubes and tetrahedrons, as they create bubble wands with pipe cleaners and drinking straws.

Exploring Materials: Nano Gold
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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.

Rotating Light
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In this activity, learners explore what happens when polarized white light passes through a sugar solution.

CD Spectroscope
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In this activity, learners use an old CD to construct a spectroscope, a device that separates light into its component colors.

Water Illusions: Refraction & Magnification
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Learners demonstrate how water can distort, refract and magnify light.

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.

Glowing in the Dark
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In this activity, learners explore phosphorescence and how certain materials can absorb and store energy from a light source.

Exploring the Universe: Pack a Space Telescope
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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.

See the Light
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In this three-part activity, learners conduct simple experiments to see how light refracts and reflects, and how colors of light affect what we see.

Spectroscope
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In this activity (posted on March 12, 2011), learners follow the steps to construct a spectroscope, a tool used to analyze light and color.

Radar Mapping: What's in the Box?
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In this activity, learners mimic remote sensing. Learners use a stick to measure the distance to a "planet surface" they cannot see, and create their own map of the landscape.

Light and Sound
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In this four-part activity, learners explore light and sound through a variety of hands-on investigations.
What Causes Rainbows?
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In this activity, learners explore how and why rainbows form by creating rainbows in a variety of ways using simple materials. Learners create rainbows indoors and outdoors.

Colored Shadows Investigation
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This activity (located on page 3 of the PDF under GPS: Light and Color Activity) is a full inquiry investigation into mixing colors with light.

Invisible Sunblock
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In this activity, learners find out why some mineral sunblock rubs in clear. Learners compare nano and non-nano sunblocks and discover how particle size affects visibility.

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.

Invisible Sunblock
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This is a hands-on activity exploring how nanoscale particles are used in mineral sunblocks to increase their transparency.

Light is Made of Colors
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Learners observe different light sources, outdoors and indoors, using prism glasses (diffraction glasses) and color filters.

The Primary Colors of Light
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In this activity, learners work in groups of four to explore light. Learners create new colors from the primary colors of light from flashlights covered in theatrical gels or cellophane.

Color Vision
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In this online activity, learners make a whole rainbow by mixing red, green, and blue light. They can change the wavelength of a monochromatic beam or they can filter white light.