Teach Engineering
Designing a Spectroscopy Mission
In this mind-bending activity, young engineers explore this question of whether or not light actually bends. Using holographic diffraction gratings, groups design and build a spectrograph. The groups then move on research a problem...
Curated OER
Check Out Lights and Shields with Beads
Students explore Ultraviolet detecting beads and conduct several investigations with them. In this investigative activity students participate in an experiment to see the harmful effects of UV light and discuss their findings.
Curated OER
The Invisible Energy in Light
Students investigate radiant energy. In this earth science lesson, students use solar beads and clear sunscreen to observe radiant solar energy. Students note observations.
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...
Mr. E. Science
The Nature of Electromagnetic Waves
Imagine a presentation that covers electromagnetic waves, electromagnetic radiation, radio waves, microwaves, the visible light spectrum, UV, X-ray, and gamma rays. Here's one. Packed with facts and colorful illustrations, 11-slide...
Curated OER
Seasons Worksheet #2
A tilted Earth is shown in relation to the rays of light from the sun. Earth science superstars determine latitude, month, and time of day. They compare number of daylight hours for different points on Earth. The five multiple choice...
NASA
Radiation Shielding on Spacecraft
Here is a terrific science activity for your elementary schoolers. In it, learners analyze different materials to simulate space radiation shielding on spacecraft, then select the best material to use to build one. This is a classic...
Curated OER
Help Wanted: A Lighting Engineer For Popular Rock Group
Students are assigned to groups, and determine each member's role in the group. They will design an experiment to determine a way to produce the three primary and five secondary colors. Students discuss color and mood. They listen to a...
It's About Time
Color
How can a hand puppet's shadow look like a dog? The lesson explains the science behind shadows, combining paint colors and the colors used in old televisions. Scholars use white, red, blue, and green lights to experiment with colors...
Cornell University
Beam Focusing Using Lenses
Explore optics using an inquiry-based experimental approach! Young scholars use a set of materials to design and build a unit capable of focusing a beam of light. They experiment with different lenses to determine the best approach to...
Curated OER
No Shadow of Doubt
Fifth graders must use a pencil to draw in the shadows they think will be formed by a house, a greenhouse, and a tree. The sun is behind each of these objects, and an open field is in front of them. That's where pupils draw their...
Curated OER
Refraction Through a Triangle
In this refraction through a triangle worksheet, students use a given diagram of light striking a triangular piece of plexiglass to determine the light ray's angle of incidence, the ray's angle of refraction, they use Snell's Law to...
Curated OER
Light My Fire!
Students draw a diagram that shows the law of reflection. In this physics lesson, students investigate the relationship between the angle of incidence and angle of reflection. They explain how light travels as it reflects on a surface.
Curated OER
Exploring Light Phenomenon
In this light worksheet, students click on the links in the questions about light to find the answers to the questions and then come back and answer the questions. Students answer 15 questions total.
Curated OER
WET Science Lesson #11: How Light Affects Water
Scientists listen to the story of Wadja Egnankou who works to save African mangrove forests. They experiment with refraction and the introduction of particulate matter to water. They conclude with creative writing about the need for a...
Curated OER
Orienting a Photovoltaic Cell
By mounting a light bulb on a stand and a PV cell on another, physics apprentices experiment with the angle of incidence. Their goal is to determine the optimum angle for collecting solar energy. The use of a scientific calculator...
Exploratorium
Parabolas
A parabolic mirror toy demonstrates how concave mirrors objects reflect light and produce a realistic image at their focal point. This resource probably doesn't explain any more than the printed insert that accompanies such an apparatus...
Curated OER
Get the Picture!
Astronomers practice downloading data from a high-energy satellite and translate the data into colored or shaded pixels. As a hands-on activity, they use pennies to simulate high-energy satellite data and they convert their penny...
NASA
Catch a Gravitational Wave, Dude!
It is cowabunga time! Pupils read an article about the NASA LISA mission on gravitational waves and conduct additional research on them. The class participates in a science bowl type competition about gravitational waves. Panels of four...
NASA
Space-Based Astronomy on the Internet
Young scientists compile everything they have learned into a report in the fifth and final lesson in a unit on the visible light spectrum. Access to photos from observatories, telescopes, and satellites allows learners to compare...
NOAA
Animals of the Fire Ice
When the sun's rays can't reach the producers in a food web, where does all the energy come from? Extreme environments call for extreme food sources. Young scientists investigate creatures that appear to get their energy from methane...
Glynn County School System
Lives and Deaths of Stars
Star light, star bright ... just how long can you wish on that star? Well, it depends on its mass. The presentation explains the life cycle of stars based on their sizes. Scholars learn about the life expectancy of a star based on the...
Alabama Learning Exchange
How Are Rainbows Created?
Students describe how the sun's rays produce colors. They describe how water causes the sun's rays of light to bend, producing a rainbow.
Curated OER
Chandra X-Ray Observatory
Learners tour Chandra's top galactic X-ray images. In this Chandra X-Ray Observatory lesson, students play games and complete puzzles based on the Chandra Mission and X-Ray Astronomy. Learners listen to pod casts, question an...