Summer Tour 2007
Sharon demonstrates multiple lenses together to make a telescope.
Others make telescopic discoveries.
Heads really do get this big after doing science in the park.
Enrapt in the stuff to look at through the microscope.
Why isn't the bulb lighting up?
Staff and kids are pretty much the same. Kids are just shorter.
Activities:
- Bags of lenses
- Magnification, de-magnification, forming images (e.g., project an image of the sun or other scenery onto screen in a box or under good shadow
- Build a telescope with multiple lenses. Have kids combine different lenses in different orders and with different spacings to see what they can do to magnification, orientation, etc.
- Party favor magnifying glasses to hand out.
- Pinhole projection: Through a pinhole (up to a few millimeters in diameter) in a piece of foil or card stock, you can make a small image of the sun. Note that the ratio of Earth-Sun distance to Sun diameter is the same as the pinhole-screen distance to projection diameter. [We haven't actually done this one yet -- it hasn't been as appealing as the other stuff?]
- 30x microscopes: Observe fingerprints, blades of grass, the lines of the fresnel lens, a piece of hair, glitter, various minerals, leaves, dirt, the table, etc. etc. etc.
- Fresnel lenses: Can make really big image of your head! Sure, you could fry stuff with the lens, but what would that really teach the small children?
- Prisms: Making rainbows is harder than it looks. Try using the sun, but project the refracted light into the shadow. Can also use small flashlights.
- Small culture tubes and/or clear plastic pill bottles with water can do magnification, refraction.
- Bags of mirrors: Use in conjunction with lenses and see what happens.
- Optional: Telescope with solar filter for sunspot viewing. (Note: Not for 7/16 -- conditions don't look good.)
References / ideas: