Optics: Light, Color, and Their Uses Educator Guide

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.

NOTE: The Optics: Light, Color, and Their Uses Educator Guide [EG-2000-10-64-MSFC] and the following activities (*) have been removed after NASA determined they no longer meet modern classroom safety and education standards.  

Lessons/Activities:
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)