Let it Shine

Give youngsters the components of a solar-powered electric circuit and turn them loose to figure out how to connect them in order for a light to shine or motor to turn. They compare energy output of a solar panel to that of a battery. On...

What happens to light as it passes through a hole? This is the main question centered around the designing of a solar eclipse dynamic art piece that uses a solar eclipse and paper to create a pinhole projection of the art.

Light is such a fascinating subject. This lesson does a great job of illuminating the mysteries of light for your young scientists. A series of demonstrations which are explained in the plan should help your charges to understand how...

Fifth graders sit in their seats with the lights on and then the teacher turns off the lights. After their eyes have adjusted, they vote on what colors of construction paper are being held up. The lights are then turned back on and...

Students create colorful stained-glass Autumn window decorations. They shave crayons with scissors, melt the crayons in wax paper with an iron, and cut out a leaf pattern to display on windows.

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...

Students investigate how the sun can be used for energy. They read a handout, discuss the pros and cons of passive solar building design, develop flashcard questions, and identify jobs that can be helped by solar energy.

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...

Students practice using a thermometer to determine how the air around the earth gets heated and cooled by the sun. Students chart the daily inside and outside temperature for two weeks.

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.