Seeing the Light

How is a rainbow made? An introduction to the principles of light.

Important Dates

Registration Opens:
Wednesday, June 01, 2011, at 9:00 a.m.

Registration Closes:
Monday, April 30, 2012, at 5:00 a.m.

Program Starts:
Monday, September 12, 2011, at 9:00 a.m.

Program Ends:
Friday, June 29, 2012, at 3:00 p.m.

Contact Information

For more information about this program, contact:

Menzel Smith-Jones
Brookhaven National Laboratory
Bldg.400C – P.O. Box 5000
Upton, NY 11973-5000
631-344-4495 (phone)
631-344-7098 (fax)
slc@bnl.gov

What is light? How is a rainbow made? Through a series of experiments students will explore the properties of light. Discover how shadows are made, how light is reflected, and how light can be bent to make colorful rainbows. Students will also see the results of mixing the primary colors of light and experiment with our shadow wall.

Vocabulary

visible spectrum, primary colors, secondary colors, prism, ROYGBIV, refract, reflect, fluorescent, incandescent, shadow, bounce, bend, block

Audience for This Program

Elementary Level 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Grades

Program Benefits

Lesson Objectives

1) Identify where light comes from.

2) Discover the three ways to manipulate light.

3) Discover that white light can separated into a rainbow through refraction or bending.

4) Discover the primary and secondary colors of light.