Indoor Rainbow

Materials

  • A shallow pan
  • Water
  • A flashlight
  • A piece of paper
  • A mirror

Directions

  1. Fill the pan hallway full with water
  2. Place part the mirror in the water. Lean it against the side of the pan so that it’s at an angle.
  3. Shine the flashlight on the underwater part of the mirror.
  4. Hold the white paper above the mirror and adjust it until you can see the rainbow!

Explanation

Your flashlight gives off white light, which contains every color in the rainbow. When the light from your flashlight hits the water, it undergoes a process called “refraction” where it will bend and separate the colors. The mirror reflects those individual colors out of the water and onto your piece of paper.