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Activity
Exploratorium

Far Out Corners

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Construct a three-dimensional optical illusion when your class is exploring vision and how the eye and brain work together. Three concave corners are mounted inside of a black box, but as a light is shined upon them, they appear to be...
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Activity
It's About Time

Curved Mirrors

For Teachers 7th - 12th Standards
Discover concave and convex mirrors using a laser light. Scholars experiment with real and virtual images before reading a handout and completing homework questions. Included extensions greatly benefit learners, so take advantage of the...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Incoming Solar Radiation

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Demonstrate how the spherical shape of the Earth contributes to unequal heating of its surface and results in varying climates at different latitudes. This would be an illuminating addition to your meteorology lessons, especially when...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Solar Car Series: Angle/Energy Amount

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Does the angle of a solar panel change the output? Emerging engineers find out! Demonstrate for your class how they can angle a straw to match the angle of light rays coming from a source. Then turn them loose to experiment with the...
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Activity
Museum of Science

Circuit Board

For Teachers K - 6th
Light up the solutions. By following a set of directions, pupils build a circuit board with six different circuits. Learners use the circuit board to create a matching activity by connecting the questions to the correct answers via a...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Color and Spectrum

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Learners examine the spectra of light sources that have similar colors.  In this light lesson plan students complete an activity using various lights in the classroom and discuss the colors and the heat generated. 
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Photosynthesis

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students conduct a variety of experiments on photosynthesis. In this biology lesson, students identify the factors required for the process to occur. They perform computerized experiments to test the amount of oxygen produced when plants...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

How We See Things

For Teachers 4th - 5th
Students investigate how mirrors reflect light. In this reflection lesson, students draw the path of the light reflected from a mirror. Students construct a list of objects that are light sources.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Lunar Lollipops

For Teachers 3rd - 6th
Students work with a partner, Styrofoam ball and light source to simulate the positions of the Earth, Moon and Sun at various stages during the phases of the Moon. They describe why the Moon is visible from Earth and complete a worksheet.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Modeling Hot and Cold Planets

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Students, in teams, design and construct models of two planets, one hot and the other cold, using a variety of materials. They attempt to create the models out of substances that will actually show the greatest temperature differences...
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Activity
Exploratorium

The Three Little Pig(ments)

For Teachers 4th - 8th
Photocopy single-color images onto acetate transparencies and either demonstrate or have your class experience the combination of colors to produce images. Children will learn that cyan, magenta, yellow, and black combine to make all of...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

To See or Not to See: The Colors of Light

For Teachers 7th
Seventh graders describe and conduct an experiment that identifies the physical properties of light. They explore sources of visible light and an electromagnetic spectrum. Students explain the conversion of one form of energy to another.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

What things let Light Pass Through?

For Teachers 2nd
Second graders classify objects according to how well light can pass through them and predict how well objects will transmit light. They experiment with objects to verify predictions while collecting, recording, and interpreting data...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

What is Light?

For Teachers 2nd - 4th
Young scholars explore different types of light, and demonstrate reading comprehension skills, including reading strategies, inference, literal meaning, and critical analysis.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Learning From Leaves: Adaptations To Differing Light Levels

For Teachers 3rd - 6th
Young scholars, in groups, examine plants with different light levels. They are given plants from a tropical and desert region. They write a hypothesis at the beginning of the experiment.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Tread Lightly: Our Changing Climate

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students examine the concept of climate change. In this environmental studies lesson, students research Internet and print sources regarding global warming and discuss their research findings as well as their impressions.
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Worksheet
Curated OER

Design Project: LED Stroboscope

For Students 11th - Higher Ed
In this physics worksheet, students design and build an electrical circuit using LED as a light source. They complete 2 short answer questions about their design.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Labs from Chicago, Summer 1993: Calibrating the Sun's Light

For Teachers 5th - 6th
Students experiment with the luminosity of the Sun's light. In this luminosity lesson, students participate in an experiment with luminosity of the sun and flashlights. They make filters and fiber optic sources.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Light

For Teachers K - 4th
Students observe how light can be reflected, refracted, and absorbed. In this light lesson, students discover that light travels in a straight path. This lesson contains a "bonus" activity that explains how to make a kaleidoscope.
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Worksheet
Curated OER

Curious Science: Magnetism

For Students 4th - 6th
In this online interactive science worksheet, students respond to 3 multiple choice questions about magnetism and its functions.
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Worksheet
Curated OER

No Shadow of Doubt

For Students 5th
Fifth graders must use a pencil to draw in the shadows they think will be formed by a house, a greenhouse, and a tree. The sun is behind each of these objects, and an open field is in front of them. That's where pupils draw their...
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Worksheet
Curated OER

Fun with Circuits

For Students K - 2nd
What kinds of things need electricity to work? Kids draw the missing parts to three incomplete circuits in a worksheet about power and electricity. The science exploration asks them to build a circuit to a light bulb, but this might be a...
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Lesson Plan
Cornell University

Beam Focusing Using Lenses

For Students 11th - 12th
Explore optics using an inquiry-based experimental approach! Young scholars use a set of materials to design and build a unit capable of focusing a beam of light. They experiment with different lenses to determine the best approach to...
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Lesson Plan
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University of Colorado

Rings and Things

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
Galileo first observed Saturn's rings in 1610. Through the use of a flashlight and baby powder, classes see how they can observe the rings of the outer planets from far away. Another demonstration shows how these rings, made of ice and...