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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.

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

Learners demonstrate how water can distort, refract and magnify light.

In this activity, learners use simple materials to create giant bubbles.

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

In this activity, learners explore how nanosized structures can create brilliant color.

In this activity related to nanotechnology, learners observe some of the effects that result from creating a thin layer of material several nanometers thick.

In this activity, learners discuss and investigate how cameras, telescopes, and their own eyes use light in similar ways.

In this activity, learners experiment and observe how the color of materials that cover the Earth affects the amounts of sunlight our planet absorbs.

In this activity, learners create a cylindrical mirror to see themselves as others see them.

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.

In this activity, learners experiment with shadows and light sources to understand the relationship between the angle illumination and the shadow's length.

In this optics activity, learners discover basic lens-making techniques by using a tennis ball to make a lens out of ice.

In this activity on page 2 of the PDF, learners discover how color changes can help scientists distinguish between acids and bases.

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

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.

In this activity about light and refraction, learners make a lens and magnifying glass by filling a bowl with water.

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.

In this quick optics activity, learners use a dim point of light (a disassembled Mini MagLite and dowel set-up) to cast a shadow of the blood supply in their retina onto the retina itself.

In this interdisciplinary activity, learners create a Space Weather Action Center (SWAC) to monitor solar storms and develop real SWAC news reports.