For Ages 15 and Up
Homemade Polariscope
You may have heard of polarized glasses, but what does that mean? How are polarized lens different and how do they reduce glare? This experiment will show students the effects of polarization and help them understand what it does.
Wave Machine
Light is very strange in that it travels as both a wave and a particle. This activity will simplify this concept by building a wave machine to show how light moves as a wave.
Particle Simulator
Light is very strange in that it travels as both a wave and a particle. This activity will simplify this concept by exclusively examining light’s particle-like properties.
Laser Jell-O
When light interacts with another substance, it does one of three things: reflects, absorbs, or transmits. This experiment will help you understand transmission and absorption.
Ricocheting Lasers
This experiment will help students understand the importance of the critical angle and the index of refraction.
Glue Stick Sunset
As the day ends, the sky is painted with all sorts of beautiful colors. But why isn’t the sky red and orange during the rest of the day? Why are the colors less vibrant the further they are from the horizon? This activity will help students understand the answer to these questions.
Focal Lengths
To see a clear image on the opposite side of a lens, the distance between your eye and the lens must be proportional to distance between the lens and the object. Through this activity, students will understand the importance of focal lengths and discover how to calculate them.
Is it Real or Virtual?
This activity goes over the difference between real and virtual images.