Turn an old CD into a spectroscope to analyze light—you may be surprised by what you see. Try pointing your CD spectroscope at the fluorescent light in your room, sunlit clouds in the sky (but never the sun), even your friend’s colored shirt to reveal the wavelengths of light that mix together to create the color you see. It's your very own truth teller for light!
Are shadows always black, or can they take on the colors of the rainbow? In this hands-on science snack, which was developed and demonstrated by Exploratorium Senior Scientist Paul Doherty, you’ll have fun with colored lightbulbs, experiment with additive color mixtures, and learn about human color perception. Watch the videos, build your own colored shadows, and see how exciting light and shadow can be.
Why do we see colors in oily water and soap bubbles? Sometimes we see red, sometimes blue, and sometimes it appears as though we see nothing at all. Experiment with soap film to observe the behavior and colorful appearance of different wavelengths of light.
Light reflecting off the surface of soapy water produces colors—why? What affects which colors you see? Try this activity and learn how to model what happens when light of different wavelengths encounters soap film of different thicknesses. This snack is a companion to the Soap Film on a Can tutorial.
Seeing is believing—light is pretty amazing stuff.
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