Updated on March 2, 2017
Kids have fun exploring the science of light and shadow and optical illusions with these interactive websites and apps. Learn about the properties of light, colors, energy, wavelength. Some of the sites have interactive games for younger children, while others are designed for middle and high school students.
NeoK12 offers a set of YouTube videos explaining and illustrating light, optics, reflection, refraction, visible spectrum, electromagnetic spectrum, wave particles, and lenses. All videos and lessons on this site have been reviewed by K-12 teachers and are safe for kids.
Tease your brain with more than a dozen optical illusions. Exploratorium shows how our brain and visual perception interact to deceive us.
There are some amazing optical illusions shown here through computer graphics in motion. While the illusions can be enjoyed by students of any age, the accompanying explanations will most likely require a teacher’s interpretation for K-12 students to understand them.
This site is devoted to everything optics. You will find cool activities combining Jell-O and laser pointers, definitions of terms like acousto-optics and retroreflection, profiles of optics celebs who are changing our world and an optics timeline stretching from prehistory…
From site: Why are things colored? There are three causes. Repeatedly over and over in innumerable variety, they create our colorful world. Light is made in the yellow glow of a candle. Light is lost when sunlight filters through stained…
From site: Science, Optics and You is a science curriculum package being developed for teachers, students, and parents. These activities are designed to promote the asking and answering of questions related to light, color, and optics. The program begins with…