Intermediate Activities
Ok — you get it. Light bends when traveling through various substances, can be scattered depending on what it hits and that the colors white and black are not as simple as black and white. The experiments in this section are recommended for scientists 10 and older. They will help you understand concepts such as magnification, reflection and diffraction. Some of these experiments require adult supervision.
Bending Light - Make a lens and see how your eye manipulates the light that enters it.
Guiding Light - Use glass and water to demonstrate total internal reflection.
Lens Activity: Looking Through Lenses - A lens is a piece of transparent material with at least one curved surface, which refracts, or bends, light rays coming from an object. In this activity you will look at only two kinds of lenses, convex and concave, and observe their similarities and differences.
Make a Telescope - This activity demonstrates how to make a simple telescope using two lenses and a cardboard tube.
Mirrors & the Law of Reflection
Splitting White Light - We're going to be splitting white light into all its component colors using three household items: a compact disc, dishwashing liquid, and a hose. Each experiment will split light through a different color separation process, including dispersion, interference and diffraction.
The Ripple Tank - Create a ripple tank to study waves.
Transparent Gelatin - How is it that you can make gelatin stop light, but not stop you from seeing the fruit suspended within? This activity can show you how.