Lights, shadows, action, and inquiry await your artistic scientists. They explore the way light travels, absorbs, reflects, and transmits through shadow play. They create folktale-inspired shadow puppets, explore the science of light,...

Do radio waves create light? It's more difficult to understand the things we can't see than those that we can. The simulation compares the relatively small range of visible light to the entire electromagnetic spectrum. It graphs the size...

Different colors of the spectrum travel at different speeds through media, causing them to refract at different angles—which allows humans to see their colors. Through a simulation, pupils see how air, water, and other media bend light....

Does light affect molecules or does it go right through them? The simulation explores four different types of light: microwave, infrared, visible, and ultraviolet. Scholars alter the energy level of each as it is aimed at seven different...

Four modules are a part of this stellar lesson plan. Space scientists view the electromagnetic spectrum, they generate waves on a computer screen in order to measure frequency and wavelength, discover how light is related to temperature,...

How bright are your classes? An interactive lesson has scholars explore how light interacts with carbon dioxide in the air and the surface of the earth. They watch a temperature scale as light interacts with the environment.

Many types of cancer treatments now depend on nanotechnology—a big "little" discovery. Scholars begin by removing "malignant" tissue from simulated brains, one using fluorescent markers thanks to nanotechnology and one without. This...

How does a neon light work and does it actually contain the gas neon? An enlightening simulation encourages pupils to play with circuits and neon lights. They control the capacitance, resistance, and color of the bulb, and the simulation...

Scientists detected exoplanets by measuring how the brightness of stars changed over time. Young astronomers interpret and analyze the same data that led to exoplanet discoveries. They learn to apply light curve graphs and connect the...

Star light, star bright, first star I see ... wait a minute, where did the star go? Scholars complete a simulation that measures the brightness of a distant star as another object passes in front of it. Learners move the passing...

What is the fastest way to get from point A to point B if you are going through two different mediums, such as air then water? Scholars explore the way light travels through air, water, acrylic, glass, and diamond as they answer this...

Students explore energy by creating a light project in class. In this kaleidoscope lesson, students discuss the properties of light and how mirrors can reflect the energy in different directions. Students view a diagram of light...

Ever made solar s'mores? Or recreated the solar system using peanuts? Astronomers young and old investigate all things solar using a variety of activities. Explore how the sun works, types of light it emits, and methods of charting the...

The Milky Way gets great reviews on Trip Advisor — 100 million stars. The activity allows scholars to rethink their assumptions and prior knowledge. Pupils observe a set of two lights at equal distance and brightness, but they believe...

Astronomy is literally over your head, but this lesson will explain how we study it. Young scientists make telescopes, calculate and compare the light gathering power of lenses, and simulate detection of infared radiation....

Which travels faster, light or sound? Scholars work in groups to simulate the ability for waves to travel through solids, liquids, gases, and through a vacuum. Then, they learn about the properties of a mystery wave and must determine...

Humans can only see visible light, but some insects can see ultraviolet light. Through a simulation, pupils explore how we see colors using one bulb. It moves on to demonstrate how we see colors by mixing three different bulbs (red,...

Why did the waves get into a fight? They were tired of each other's interference. Scholars observe the wave patterns from dripping water, sound waves, and light waves. They vary the spacing, build barriers, and increase the number...

How can we change the color of what we are seeing? The simulation allows individuals to change the color of a car's paint, the color of light pointed at the car, and the color of glasses the person is wearing. Each combination creates a...

How do jewelers tell the difference between diamonds, glass, and cubic zirconia? A sparkling simulation demonstrates how to use a ray of light to determine the substance and ideal shape for a diamond. Scholars control the material,...

Discuss the lives of artists in the Lyme Art Colony in the 1900s with this resource. Young historians write and perform a short scene depicting individuals who lived in the Griswold boardinghouse, used by the colony artists. They use the...

Groups work together to design a lighthouse, from designing and drawing the wiring diagram, to creating prototypes of the switch and circuit, to envisioning and building a scale model along with a blueprint. By including different...

Can you time the speed of your car perfectly so you only hit green lights? The challenge in the simulation is to alter the timing of the lights or the speed of the car in order to do just that. Scholars learn about angular speed as they...

Construct a maze in your classroom and have a blindfolded scientist act as a space rover, maneuvering unfamiliar terrain while another scientist plays commander. Classmates record the number of occurrences of the commander having to...