Light Bender

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On Nov. 18, 2016, to celebrate Young Readers League and its 2016 selection of Circus Mirandus by Cassie Beasley, we had a science program called "Be a Light Bender!" We had a jam-packed hour of activities exploring the physics of light and color. We did demonstrations of various phenomena, like the phosphors in a highlighter pen's ink getting excited by the ultraviolet light from a black light, and a demonstration of why the sunset looks red (the light has to travel farther through the atmosphere). We experimented with color filters and then used our knowledge to create secret messages for others to decode. We used CD spectroscopes to analyze various different light bulbs. We examined the way shadows change color when you shine colored lights on an object. The resource I used the most for this program was Exploratorium's "Science Snacks" on the website http://exploratorium.edu/snacks. It's a great site! Tons of experiments and activities with clear explanations and free videos. We didn't have time for the last experiment I planned, a demonstration of the inverse square law of light, but it is included in my slides. (Please note: when I upload my slides to slideshare a few of the fonts get distorted).

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