NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration

The information in this document was accurate as of the original publication date.

Audience: Educators
Grades: K-12
Product Number: EG-2000-10-64-MSFC


The guide contains color and light activities using lenses, prisms and mirrors to create telescopes, periscopes, microscopes and kaleidoscopes. Other activities include finding focal length and understanding reflection, refraction and diffraction. Activities are marked by grade level.

Optics Educator Guide [6MB PDF file]

Individual sections:
Optics Introductory Pages
NASA Projects, MSFC, Optics
Light, Color, and Their Uses Introduction
Reflection of Light With a Plane (Flat) Mirror -- Trace a Star (K-8)
Reflection of Light With Two Plane Mirrors
     -- Double Mirrors Placed at a 90-Degree Angle (K-8)
Reflection of Light With Two Plane Mirrors
     -- Double Mirrors Placed at a Number of Angles (5-8)
Making a Kaleidoscope (9-12)
Making a Periscope (5-12)
Constructing a Spectroscope (5-8)
Exploring Diffraction With a Spectroscope (K-8)
Diffraction of Light by Very Small Apertures (9-12)
Discovering Color With a Prism (K-8)
Light and Color -- Color Spinners (K-8)
Light and Color -- Filters (K-4)
Light and Color -- Hidden Messages (K-8)
Simple Magnifiers (K-8)
Focusing Light With a Lens (9-12)
Building a Telescope (9-12)
Building a Microscope (9-12)
Interference Fringes (9-12)
Polarization of Light (9-12)
Optics Additional Resources


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