Other
Tooter4kids: Light and Color
You'll find a wealth of resources at this site dedicated to color! Easy-to-read discussions can be found on topics ranging from the science of light to complementary colors and the color wheel. All special terms are highlighted and...
BioEd Online
Bio Ed Online: Rainbow in the Room
Students investigate the properties of visible light and the sequence of colors in the spectrum using light shone through water and prisms. The lesson and accompanying slideshow can both be downloaded.
Starfall
Starfall: Rainbow, Rainbow
This interactive nonfiction ebook focuses on the colors in the rainbow. Children can choose to read independently or listen to each sentence read to them.
University Corporation for Atmospheric Research
Ucar: About Rainbows
This site from the University Corporation of Atmospheric Research provides an illustrated article about the phenomenon of rainbows.
Math Science Nucleus
Math/science Nucleus: Light Magic
This animation discusses light and the properties of light in a storybook format. The animations cover the colors of the rainbow (ROYGBIV) along with prisms, light waves, reflection, and refraction.
South Carolina Educational Television
Know It All Media: Light and Color
Why do we see certain colors? This interactive animation demonstrates the concept of the visible spectrum, and how we see the different colors of the rainbow.
Optical Society
Optical Society of America: Optics for Kids: What Causes Rainbows?
An experiment to demonstrate how to make a rainbow and why they form.
NASA
Nasa: Sci Jinks: What Causes a Rainbow?
Find out whatever you wanted to know about rainbows and how they form. Check out the section on folklore regarding rainbows too.
University of Colorado
University of Colorado: Ph Et Interactive Simulations: Color Vision
Make a whole rainbow by mixing red, green, and blue light. Change the wavelength of a monochromatic beam or filter white light. View the light as a solid beam, or see the individual photons.
University of Illinois
University of Illinois Urbana Champaign: Light and Optics
Rainbows and sunsets are called "atmospheric optics". They can be caused by light being absorbed, reflected, scattered, refracted, or diffracted by particles in the atmosphere. Learn all about different atmospheric optics along with...
Utah Education Network
Uen: I'll Build You a Rainbow
In these three activities, students explore the colors of the spectrum in white light.
NASA
Nasa: Tour of the Electromagnetic Spectrum: Visible Light
Visible light waves are the only electromagnetic waves we can see. We see these waves as the colors of the rainbow. Each color has a different wavelength. Red has the longest wavelength and violet has the shortest wavelength. When all...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Quantum Dots and Colors
Students are introduced to the physical concept of the colors of rainbows as light energy in the form of waves with distinct wavelengths, but in a different manner than traditional kaleidoscopes. Looking at different quantum dot...
Center of Science and Industry
Cosi Columbus: Coffee Filter Rainbows
Science experiment that demonstrates chromotography. Includes full list of materials, procedures, and scientific explanation of what happens with different colors when they are soaked with water.
Optical Society
Optical Society of America: Optics for Kids: Release the Rainbow
A simple activity to demonstrate how light separates into colors when it passes through water acting as a prism.
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Graphing the Rainbow
Students are introduced to different ways of displaying visual spectra, including colored "barcode" spectra, like those produced by a diffraction grating, and line plots displaying intensity versus color, or wavelength. Students learn...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: The Energy of Light
For this introduction to light energy, students learn about reflection and refraction as they learn that light travels in wave form. Through hands-on activities, they see how prisms, magnifying glasses and polarized lenses work. They...
Science Buddies
Science Buddies: Leaves and Light
Leaves use sunlight to make food for the plant. Sunlight contains all of the colors of the rainbow, but are all of those colors used by the leaf? Can you find out if some colors of light are more important than others?
Utah Education Network
Uen: Enlightening Explorations, Part Iii
This lesson contains the following labs: Rainbows, Refraction with Prisms, and What Color Is It? Students will study light by reading various nonfiction texts and viewing a video lesson. Then students will engage in the following labs:...
York University
York University: Color and Color Vision
York University provides an index page to several other pages on the topic of color and color vision. The pages are part of an online "book." Many graphics and explanations.