Art Institute of Chicago
Color Combinations
Explore color through an examination of pointillism and light. Class members view Georges Seraut's famous painting on a computer, zooming in and out to see the details and effects of the technique. They then cover how light and color are...
Curated OER
Mondrian - Primary/Secondary Color Study
Utilizing computer software, learners demonstrate the color spectrum. They investigate the life of the artist Piet Mondrian and define his style of artwork. Then they use Photoshop to recreate some of his designs while discovering the...
Curated OER
The Color Spectrum: How Does it Work?
Create models of the infrared, visible, and ultraviolet portions of the electromagnetic spectrum. Working in small groups, your class can investigate metric conversions calculations. They will find the length of the waves in nanometers,...
Curated OER
Light 3: All Those Seeing Color, Say Eye!
Middle schoolers explore the nature of light. They use on-line articles and a worksheet to explore the roles of the eye and brain in the perception of color. They draw and label a diagram illustrating the movement of light.
Curated OER
The Lighter Side of Color
Young scholars explore light and color, including how colors are mixed to produce new colors, how light is filtered, and how light is reflected off of surfaces. They read materials provided, complete worksheets, and complete hands-on...
Curated OER
Color, Light, and Excited Electrons
Investigate color, light and excited electrons and produce waves using slinkys. Your high schoolers will observe a continuous spectrum with a prism and an overhead projector. They observe flame tests to identify elements and they observe...
Curated OER
Energy: Light -- Spinning Color Wheel
Second graders make spinning color wheels to determine how energy effects what colors look like. They paint or color a color wheel with the seven colors of the spectrum. Next, the spin the wheel to determine what happens. In order to...
Curated OER
Color and Light Spectrum Demonstrations
Students explore the light spectrum. The teacher uses holographic diffraction grafting film on an overhead to demonstrate the true nature of color. After observing a vivid rainbow, students recognize that white light is composed of all...
Curated OER
Light 2: The Lighter Side of Color
Students explore light and color, including how colors are mixed to produce new colors, how light is filtered, and how light is reflected off of surfaces.
Curated OER
Color and Spectrum
Students examine the spectra of light sources that have similar colors. In this light activity students complete an activity using various lights in the classroom and discuss the colors and the heat generated.
Curated OER
Bubble-ology
Students observe the visible spectrum while observing light hitting the surface of bubbles. They blow large bubbles and observe how the colors change.
Curated OER
Star Light, Star Bright
Four modules are a part of this stellar lesson plan. Space scientists view the electromagnetic spectrum, they generate waves on a computer screen in order to measure frequency and wavelength, discover how light is related to temperature,...
California Institute of Technology
Physics of Light
Gummy bears are tasty, but did you know they are also used to determine color and light properties? Use the activity as a way to demonstrate light absorption, light reflection, and refraction with high schooler. Pupils conduct small...
Curated OER
Colorful Colorado
Students investigate the components of white light as viewed through a prism. The multiple colors of the spectrum produced are related to wavelengths and experienced through the creation of a color wheel.
Cornell University
LEDs Rainbow Connection
View LED lights through the eyes of a scientist. Young scholars learn to view light as a wave frequency and connect various frequencies to different colors on the light spectrum. A lab activity asks groups to measure the frequency of...
Curated OER
Learning Light's Properties
Students examine the properties of light and the behavior of light during interference. In this electromagnetics lesson students explain behaviors of light.
Curated OER
Stargazers
Learners discuss the light spectrum and light waves as well as how the properties of light and color have contributed to important discoveries about properties of the universe. They research the term redshift and the redshift phenomenon...
Curated OER
Color
Students study the elements of color in paint and light. In this color science lesson, students discuss colors in their world, white light, and rainbows. Students mix three primary paint colors to make various secondary colors. Students...
Curated OER
Color, Computers, and Math
Students visit a web page that gives a brief introduction to two color models and experiment with mixing different color intensities to create different colors. They visit links that give more detailed information on color.
NASA
Here Comes the Light!
Look beyond the light! An engaging activity introduces young scholars to the application of a spectroscope. The lesson is the fifth in a series of six and focuses on the analysis of the elements of the sun.
Curated OER
Wavelengths of Light
Explore physical science by participating in a visual spectrum experiments. Budding scientists identify the colors in the color spectrum and view the colors in class by utilizing cellophane, flash lights, and other arts and crafts...
Curated OER
Every Color in the Rainbow
Learners brainstorm and discuss the amazing world of rainbows. They draw and color rainbows and look for natural rainbows that occur whenever white light is split into the spectrum and the rainbows that can form on soap bubbles and fish...
Exploratorium
Blue Sky
Use a container full of water as a prism and show that as light is bent, the individual colors from different wavelengths become visible. This explains why the sky appears to be blue midday, and why as the sun nears the horizon, it looks...
University of Colorado
Designing an Open Spectrograph
Take the class over the rainbow. Pairs or small groups follow directions to create a spectrograph. The pupils measure the angles formed by the different colors of the spectrum along with calculating the lengths formed by the spectrum and...