![Polarized Light activity with hands holding paper and polarizing tape materials up to the window](https://nisenet.org/sites/default/files/styles/splashy_hero_large/public/2021-04/Polarized%20Light%20activity%20with%20hands%20holding%20paper%20and%20polarizing%20tape%20materials%20up%20to%20the%20window.jpg?h=a1dd1271&itok=FSRHS_jp)
Light Activities
Light plays a central role in our lives. The electromagnetic (EM) spectrum includes wavelengths ranging from radio waves, microwaves, infrared, the visible spectrum that we perceive as light, ultraviolet, X-rays, and gamma rays. The main source of visible light on the Earth is our Sun, which provides virtually all the energy used by living things. These activities and resources cover some of the different ways we interact with and use light.
Featured Short hands-on activities
Search for more on light and optics![a group of learners build UV color changing beaded bracelets](https://nisenet.org/sites/default/files/styles/curated_list_large_cropped/public/2022-02/20151009_1142.jpg?h=265e640d&itok=nhC3c3sK)
Exploring Properties - UV Bracelets
![A family looks at an image through a blue filter](https://nisenet.org/sites/default/files/styles/curated_list_large_cropped/public/2022-02/ExSci_Space_20180929_1190_edit.jpg?h=3d346970&itok=-dNccHVd)
Exploring the Universe: Filtered Light
![image of a handprint that was created using heat sensitive liquid crystals suspended in thermal paper](https://nisenet.org/sites/default/files/styles/curated_list_large_cropped/public/MatsLC_handprint_Dec08.jpg?h=c210faf1&itok=6YeuUVKY)
Exploring Materials - Liquid Crystals
![Liquid crystal display activity components including signs, guides, craft materials, safety gear, and liquid crystal material](https://nisenet.org/sites/default/files/styles/curated_list_large_cropped/public/images/catalog/liquid_crystal_displays.jpg?h=d02e55a0&itok=qszCXtrx)
Exploring Products - Liquid Crystal Displays
![Girl looking at objects in a beaker filled with liquid that appear to be invisible](https://nisenet.org/sites/default/files/styles/curated_list_large_cropped/public/images/catalog/11070/invisibility_2.jpg?h=e4c0da04&itok=Nb5ewATQ)
Exploring Properties - Invisibility
![Hands holding glass objects on a string in a beaker of liquid](https://nisenet.org/sites/default/files/styles/curated_list_large_cropped/public/images/catalog/10907/invisibility.jpg?h=9e2aa9b8&itok=sR3DScO6)
Exploring Nano & Society - Invisibility Cloak
![Exploring Products - Sunblock activity components like the construction paper, swabs, and sunblock.](https://nisenet.org/sites/default/files/styles/curated_list_large_cropped/public/images/catalog/5403/img_2785.jpg?h=273ad304&itok=1_6xgbw7)
Exploring Products - Sunblock
![Exploring Materials - Thin Films activity components including signs, activity materials and guides.](https://nisenet.org/sites/default/files/styles/curated_list_large_cropped/public/images/catalog/rainbow_film_kit_materials.jpg?h=7025d824&itok=xEHGGVVK)
Exploring Materials - Thin Films
![two children looking at Blue Morpho butterfly](https://nisenet.org/sites/default/files/styles/curated_list_large_cropped/public/images/catalog/8886/butterfly.jpg?h=aabaf923&itok=-SMZfUJN)
Exploring Structures - Butterfly
![Child holding squares of red stained glass colored by nano gold](https://nisenet.org/sites/default/files/styles/curated_list_large_cropped/public/images/catalog/8880/nanogold.jpg?h=8acc67b8&itok=vIyX3VeM)
Exploring Materials - Nano Gold
![Learner uses 3D glasses to look at a image printed on a sheet of paper](https://nisenet.org/sites/default/files/styles/curated_list_large/public/images/catalog/11091/img_4485_crop.jpg?itok=OOY0Rk4m)
Exploring Tools - 3D Imaging
![Exploring Properties - Capillary Action activity components including signs, activity materials and guides.](https://nisenet.org/sites/default/files/styles/curated_list_large_cropped/public/images/catalog/capillary_action_kit_materials_0.jpg?h=5fa5e2cc&itok=QcmnF56D)
Exploring Properties - Capillary Action
![Two learners and one facilitator look at gold nanoparticles suspended in a solution which makes a red color](https://nisenet.org/sites/default/files/styles/curated_list_large_cropped/public/2022-02/20110918GH_241.jpg?h=cb7b63f3&itok=57PjNBxI)
Exploring Materials - Stained-Glass Windows
![Person's hand resting a Stained Glass window](https://nisenet.org/sites/default/files/styles/curated_list_large_cropped/public/NanoDays2009_219.jpg?h=a5eb5da0&itok=33TuNIRg)
Nanoparticle Stained Glass (cart demo)
![Family using thermometer to take temperature of their arm for the Heat Map activity](https://nisenet.org/sites/default/files/styles/curated_list_large_cropped/public/2022-02/ExSci_Space_20180929_1950.jpg?h=d3251556&itok=MHj6xU6d)
Exploring Earth: Temperature Mapping
![A young learner in a grassy field safely observes an image of the Sun being projected on a solarscope using the Exploring the Solar System: Observe the Sun activity.](https://nisenet.org/sites/default/files/styles/curated_list_large_cropped/public/2022-02/ExSci_Space_20181018_1057.jpg?h=2b5cd828&itok=rwKBEqtA)
Exploring the Solar System: Observe the Sun
![Hands holding square of polarizers and transparent tape](https://nisenet.org/sites/default/files/styles/curated_list_large_cropped/public/images/catalog/20140907GH1_149-1.jpg?h=6e097db3&itok=nGRgb_cw)
Exploring Materials - Polarizers
![Child in a red shirt with a preserved butterfly](https://nisenet.org/sites/default/files/styles/curated_list_large_cropped/public/images/catalog/11901/20110918gh_370.jpg?h=887f1908&itok=rMhZC1Yw)
Butterflies
Videos
![Closeup photo of Blue Morpho Butterfly](https://nisenet.org/sites/default/files/styles/curated_list_large_cropped/public/images/catalog/10473/screen_shot_2012-06-06_at_4.21.34_pm.png?h=9e7b4264&itok=Pu_kczbB)
Butterfly Blues video
![](https://nisenet.org/sites/default/files/styles/curated_list_large/public/images/catalog/9073/butterfly_rep_image.png?itok=Jo7NLStT)
Zoom into a Blue Morpho Butterfly video
![A person holding an ice cream cone with the text "NANO: I've never had that problem."](https://nisenet.org/sites/default/files/styles/curated_list_large/public/images/catalog/8901/nano_and_me_screen_shot_2012_0.png?itok=D9KQsy3Q)
Nano and Me Videos
![Lady in pink shirt stands in the path of a cluster of bubbles](https://nisenet.org/sites/default/files/styles/curated_list_large/public/images/catalog/12007/screen_shot_2013-09-18_at_1.07.49_pm.png?itok=Pu_72Awv)
What’s Nano About Bubbles?
![A photoshopped image of people wearing invisibility cloaks hiding everything but their legs](https://nisenet.org/sites/default/files/styles/curated_list_large/public/images/catalog/11944/screen_shot_2013-08-29_at_12.49.41_pm.png?itok=LK6tkV9N)
Invisibility Cloak video
![Presenter with a UV meter](https://nisenet.org/sites/default/files/styles/curated_list_large/public/images/catalog/11942/screen_shot_2013-08-29_at_12.42.09_pm.png?itok=Z5jgAmnV)
A Little Bit of Sunshine
Longer Programs
![Looking at an opal through a scanning electron microscope](https://nisenet.org/sites/default/files/styles/curated_list_large_cropped/public/images/catalog/8369/opal_sem_small_size.jpg?h=e39eea65&itok=5jTuJe0x)
Colors at the Nanoscale: Butterflies, Beetles and Opals
![A person puts a liquid on a substrate which is on top of a DIY spin-coater.](https://nisenet.org/sites/default/files/styles/curated_list_large_cropped/public/images/catalog/10764/spincoater2.jpg?h=fa3865ff&itok=khiAQQpm)
Organic Light-Emitting Diodes (OLEDs): Cart Version
![A person puts a liquid on a substrate which is on top of a DIY spin-coater.](https://nisenet.org/sites/default/files/styles/curated_list_large_cropped/public/images/catalog/10764/spincoater2.jpg?h=fa3865ff&itok=khiAQQpm)
Organic Light-Emitting Diodes (OLEDs): Classroom Version
![A circuit etched on a board using photolithography.](https://nisenet.org/sites/default/files/styles/curated_list_large_cropped/public/images/catalog/8550/img_0163.jpg?h=2e896838&itok=O1H80Ehm)
Photolithography
![Students work on making their own version of stained glass](https://nisenet.org/sites/default/files/styles/curated_list_large_cropped/public/catalog/programs/NSG_PEOPLEprogram.jpg?h=9e0bcf33&itok=cV-gyhAE)
Nanoparticle Stained Glass: classroom program
![solar cell wired up to a meter](https://nisenet.org/sites/default/files/styles/curated_list_large_cropped/public/images/catalog/5553/dssc.jpg?h=30c08e7f&itok=vF5pu7wG)
Dye Sensitized (Raspberry Juice) Solar Cell
Our Sun
![A young learner in a grassy field safely observes an image of the Sun being projected on a solarscope using the Exploring the Solar System: Observe the Sun activity.](https://nisenet.org/sites/default/files/styles/curated_list_large_cropped/public/2022-02/ExSci_Space_20181018_1057.jpg?h=2b5cd828&itok=rwKBEqtA)
Exploring the Solar System: Observe the Sun
![Solar Eclipse ativity with young museum visitors at 2017 Science Museum of Minnesota Earth Day event](https://nisenet.org/sites/default/files/styles/curated_list_large_cropped/public/2024-01/Solar%20Eclipse%20ativity%20with%20young%20museum%20visitors%20at%202017%20Science%20Museum%20of%20Minnesota%20Earth%20Day%20event%20credit%20Science%20Museum%20of%20Minnesota%20for%20NISE%20Network%20_T3B0605.jpg?h=f2fcf546&itok=IKk315g7)
Exploring the Solar System: Solar Eclipse
![2017 solar eclipse square format](https://nisenet.org/sites/default/files/styles/curated_list_large_cropped/public/2021-01/2017-solar-eclipse-square.jpg?h=2a479378&itok=w31Ah-pR)
Solar Eclipses
![Solar Science illustration of the sun being projection onto a sheet](https://nisenet.org/sites/default/files/styles/curated_list_large_cropped/public/2020-11/Solar%20Science%20book%20by%20Dennis%20Schatz%20and%20Andrew%20Fraknoi%201_0.png?h=35792c1e&itok=lDmxERni)
Solar Science: Exploring Sunspots, Seasons, Eclipses, and More
![Facilitator demonstrates a magnetic field with a small model of Earth](https://nisenet.org/sites/default/files/styles/curated_list_large_cropped/public/2022-02/MF_2.jpg?h=f2fcf546&itok=11kMbVmL)
Exploring the Solar System: Magnetic Fields
Shadows
![Exploring Earth: Bear’s Shadow activity image of a mother and girl holding a flashlight representing the sun](https://nisenet.org/sites/default/files/styles/curated_list_large_cropped/public/images/catalog/bs1-L.jpg?h=a31ffb6c&itok=HFqAc0XZ)
Exploring Earth: Bear’s Shadow
![Exploring Tools - Transmission Electron Microscopes activity components including signs, activity materials and guides.](https://nisenet.org/sites/default/files/styles/curated_list_large_cropped/public/images/catalog/transmission_electron_microscopes_kit_materials.jpg?h=8e5f5a16&itok=tW94DhyV)
Exploring Tools - Transmission Electron Microscopes
![Photo of the materials used in the Exoplanet Transits activity](https://nisenet.org/sites/default/files/styles/curated_list_large_cropped/public/6_exoplanet_transits.jpg?h=deaec4b9&itok=Vt3nb0bG)
Exploring the Universe: Exoplanet Transits
Invisibility
![Girl looking at objects in a beaker filled with liquid that appear to be invisible](https://nisenet.org/sites/default/files/styles/curated_list_large_cropped/public/images/catalog/11070/invisibility_2.jpg?h=e4c0da04&itok=Nb5ewATQ)
Exploring Properties - Invisibility
![A photoshopped image of people wearing invisibility cloaks hiding everything but their legs](https://nisenet.org/sites/default/files/styles/curated_list_large/public/images/catalog/11944/screen_shot_2013-08-29_at_12.49.41_pm.png?itok=LK6tkV9N)
Invisibility Cloak video
![Hands holding glass objects on a string in a beaker of liquid](https://nisenet.org/sites/default/files/styles/curated_list_large_cropped/public/images/catalog/10907/invisibility.jpg?h=9e2aa9b8&itok=sR3DScO6)
Exploring Nano & Society - Invisibility Cloak
Invisible Sunblock
Microscopes, Telescopes, and the Electromagnetic Spectrum
![Scientist using an Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM).](https://nisenet.org/sites/default/files/styles/curated_list_large_cropped/public/images/catalog/20140905GH_099.jpg?h=a66e9592&itok=5u63xIVW)
Microscopes and Tools for the Small
![A model of the intense magnetic fields around the Sun](https://nisenet.org/sites/default/files/styles/curated_list_large_cropped/public/2020-12/hot%20lines.jpg?h=c673cd1c&itok=O2NBc--d)
Telescopes and the Electromagnetic Spectrum
Online Workshop Recordings
![Blue logo for online workshop recordings](https://nisenet.org/sites/default/files/styles/curated_list_large/public/2020-12/online-workshop-recordings-logo.jpg?itok=9FGQyoMy)
Online Workshop Recording: Nano Brown-Bag: The International Year of Light 2015 - What's Nano about Light?
![NISE Net Brown-Bag icon](https://nisenet.org/sites/default/files/styles/curated_list_large/public/nano_bb_icon_500x500_15.png?itok=OkMuw-fe)
Online Brown-Bag: The Science Behind NanoDays 2013 - Part 1 (Recorded)
Annual Events
- International Day of Light - May 16
UNESCO resources https://www.unesco.org/en/days/light
SPIE resources https://spie.org/about-spie/international-day-of-light
![Electromagnetic Spectrum EMS info graphic developed by NASA showing different wavelengths and examples for each rom very long radio waves to very short gamma rays](/sites/default/files/styles/copy_50/public/2022-08/ElectroMagnetic%20Spectrum%20EMS%20infographic%20credit%20NASA.jpeg?itok=MkwPxo13)
More resources
- Universe Awareness (UNAWE) collection light activities
- HowToSmile.org collection of light activities https://www.howtosmile.org/resource-search/light
- SPIE the international society for optics and photonics posters and activities
- Tour of the Electromagnetic Spectrum video series, book, and EMS graphic
https://science.nasa.gov/ems - Optics 4 Kids https://www.optics4kids.org
![Working with STEM Experts Guide cover including an image of expert puring a liquid and using a strainer with a girl and her family at a museum public event](/sites/default/files/styles/copy_50/public/2021-10/Working%20with%20STEM%20Experts%20Guide%20cover%20including%20an%20image%20of%20expert%20%20puring%20a%20liquid%20and%20using%20a%20strainer%20with%20a%20girl%20and%20her%20family%20at%20a%20museum%20public%20event%20CREDIT%20Marbles%20Kids%20Museum%20CROPPED.jpg?itok=O819TbQo)
Finding STEM Experts
- See the "Chemistry and Physics" and "Engineering, Technology,
Material Science, and
Nanoscale Science" section of Working with STEM Experts: A Guide for Educators in Museums and Other Informal Learning Settings