American Museum of Natural History
American Museum of Natural History: Ology: See the Light
Reflection, refraction, and the colors that make up white light is explored through lab activities after reading a brief background about light energy.
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...
Science Buddies
Science Buddies: Absorption of Radiant Energy by Different Colors
In this science fair project, use an infrared thermometer to measure the temperature of differently colored paper exposed to sunlight, and calculate energy emission using the Stefan-Boltzmann equation. Find discussion questions, a list...
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...
University of Colorado
University of Colorado: Ph Et Interactive Simulations: Neon Lights and Other Discharge Lamps
Produce light by bombarding atoms with electrons. See how the characteristic spectra of different elements are produced, and configure your own element's energy states to produce light of different colors.
Science4Fun
Science4 Fun: Light
What is light? Illustrated discussion of the speed of light, how we see colors, and how light helps us.
CK-12 Foundation
Ck 12: Chemistry Simulation: Neon Lights
[Free Registration/Login Required] Neon lights are a type of discharge tube. Observe how electrons create colored light in a hydrogen gas discharge tube. Can you figure out why hydrogen's emission spectrum contains more than one color of...
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.
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Do Different Colors Absorb Heat Better?
Students test whether the color of a material affects how much heat it absorbs. Students will place an ice cube in a box made of colored paper (one box per color; white, yellow, red and black), which they will place in the sun. The...
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?
University of Texas at Austin
The University of Texas Mc Donald Observatory: Color of Stars
Middle schoolers observe colors in the flame of a burning candle to explore connections between matter, light, color, and temperature, the basic concepts of matter and energy.
Science Education Resource Center at Carleton College
Serc: Mn Step: Why Is the Sky Blue?
Students will learn about refraction and the scattering of sunlight as it enters the atmosphere, which causes the colors in light to separate, giving us blue skies and colorful sunrises and sunsets.