Exploratorium
Bridge Light
An illuminating activity demonstrates how interference of light waves creates a pattern. Using Plexiglas™ and construction paper, participants see rainbows appear as they twist or press against the plastic plates. After the activity, you...
It's About Time
Reflected Light
The lesson allows young scientists to use lasers and mirrors to study reflected light. A reading passage and homework question assess learning, while additional material introduces extension activities.
G. Turrell
Science Activity 1: Light & Sound
Are you looking for lab sheets to go with your class experiment on plant response to light? You are no longer in the dark! This is a lesson that was written for a unit on light, but could easily be used to demonstrate plant behaviors in...
G. Turrell
Science Activity 2: Light & Sound
Little learners experiment with sunlight and map out how light travels. Using a mirror and slotted card, they find out about items that can reflect or absorb the light. They experiment with a variety of materials to find out how light...
Trash For Teaching
The Light-House Project
Groups work together to design a lighthouse, from designing and drawing the wiring diagram, to creating prototypes of the switch and circuit, to envisioning and building a scale model along with a blueprint. By including different...
Teach Engineering
Light vs. Heat Bulbs
Careful, that light bulb is hot! Compare heat and light energy using a simple light bulb. The exercise addresses energy conservation and presents actual calculations to determine the most cost-effective light bulb.
Teach Engineering
Light Intensity Lab
Let there be light. The last installment of a seven-part series has pupils conduct an experiment on light attenuation through different numbers of transparency sheets. They then relate the results back to how X-rays measure bone density.
Exploratorium
Inverse Square Law
The inverse square law is revealed when your class participates in this activity. They move a graph paper or perfboard square back and forth in a square of light to see how the intensity changes. You will definitely want to add this...
Exploratorium
Diffraction
Kindle knowledge of how light travels by using this activity in your physical science curriculum. By setting up a candle flame or flashlight bulb and viewing it through a slit, observers of light see evidence of its wave characteristic....
Exploratorium
Oil Spot Photometer
Are these two light sources the same? Groups use a white card and a little cooking oil to create a photometer that allows for the comparison of two lights. The Inverse Square Law provides a way to calculate the actual difference in...
Exploratorium
Spectra
Make a class set of spectrum tubes by first purchasing some diffraction grating, and then constructing the tools with mailing tubes or shoe boxes. If you aren't up for assembling them, you could purchase prepared spectroscope kits. This...
Exploratorium
Give and Take
Heat-sensitive liquid crystal sheets are available in a variety of sizes and temperature ranges. Purchase a class set of hand-held sheets and color half of each with a silver permanent marking pen. Learners of light can hold them under a...
Big Kid Science
Exploring Shadows
What's that lurking in the shadows? An activity that demonstrates how eclipses happen. Science scholars investigate how light and distance interact to form shadows. The experiment uses simple materials to generate data and observations...
Discovery Education
Through the Looking Glass
Turning white light into colors only takes a little scientific know how! Young scholars create their own spectroscope in a hands-on activity exploring the properties of light. Using a diffraction grating, they discover how white light...
NASA
Eclipse Activity Guide
Ever made solar s'mores? Or recreated the solar system using peanuts? Astronomers young and old investigate all things solar using a variety of activities. Explore how the sun works, types of light it emits, and methods of charting the...
Curated OER
Bronx Cheer Bulb
If you chew or make a "raspberry" while viewing an LED light source, the light will appear to wiggle or flicker. It is not because of the light itself, but because of the vibration of your skull! Have your physics class give this a try...
PBS
Scale City — Inverse Proportions and Shadows in the Real World
Bring the resource out from the shadows. Viewers of a short video learn about drive-in theaters and how operators project images onto a large screen. They then perform an experiment to determine the relationship between the distance of...
Exploratorium
Water Sphere Lens
With a Florence flask or fishbowl, make a double convex lens and use it to examine an image. Because of the refraction, the image will be inverted. A simple explanation is provided here for you to share with your class as they...
Teach Engineering
Optimize! Cleaner Energy Options for Rural China
What are the trade-offs when looking to get the most benefit from an energy source? Small groups compare the cost-to-emission levels of several energy sources by looking at the information graphically. The groups utilize this...
Teach Engineering
Aerogels in Action
Model an oil spill cleanup. An engaging engineering lesson has groups using aerogels to simulate an oil spill cleanup (vegetable oil in water). Along the way, they learn about nanotechnology and hydrophilia/hydrophobia.
Exploratorium
Far Out Corners
Construct a three-dimensional optical illusion when your class is exploring vision and how the eye and brain work together. Three concave corners are mounted inside of a black box, but as a light is shined upon them, they appear to be...
Museum of Science
Circuit Board
Light up the solutions. By following a set of directions, pupils build a circuit board with six different circuits. Learners use the circuit board to create a matching activity by connecting the questions to the correct answers via a...
Exploratorium
The Three Little Pig(ments)
Photocopy single-color images onto acetate transparencies and either demonstrate or have your class experience the combination of colors to produce images. Children will learn that cyan, magenta, yellow, and black combine to make all of...
Exploratorium
Seeing Your Retina
Using a dimmed flashlight, life science learners can see the network of blood vessels that line the back of their eye. Darken the room and let them try this activity as part of your unit on the eyeball. Also consider some of the other...