Shadow Pictures

Your class might be surprised to learn that mirrors have been around since the first century AD! Young scientists explore reflection and refraction of light through a series of challenges. They use this knowledge to design their own...

It's time to boldly go where your class has not gone before! The introductory lesson in a five-part series takes young oceanographers aboard the NOAA Ship Okeanos to begin a study of ocean exploration. The lesson includes a comparison of...

Students view artwork and navigate the Internet, and read books to learn about the Aurora Borealis.  In this Northern Lights lesson, students complete a KWL and separate the facts from the myths about the Northern lights....

Lights, shadows, action, and inquiry await your artistic scientists. They explore the way light travels, absorbs, reflects, and transmits through shadow play. They create folktale-inspired shadow puppets, explore the science of light,...

Let there be light in your classroom with a video that explains that light travels in waves, the electromagnetic spectrum contains seven colors, and the color of an object depends on which light waves it reflects and absorbs. With...

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...

Students capture shadows for a shadow dance! They experiment with shadows created by people or items blocking light sources (sun, bright lamp) to draw their shadow pictures. Afterward, they cut out the shadows and arrange them on a large...

Any work with light, lenses, lasers, or mirrors is called optical engineering. Optical engineers bend and bounce light to make it useful for humans. Examples are telescopes, invisibility, nanomedicine, and solar energy. This...

Before iPhones and calendars, how did humans determine the seasons of the year? Middle school scientists discover how to use shadows to determine the time of year in an enlightening interactive. Pupils manipulate the sun and examine the...

Talk about an amazing view! A fascinating resource from a larger series exploring space boasts not one, but four different views of the total solar eclipse of 2017. Pupils read a short passage that describes each of the views, then...