GREAT
EXPLORATIONS - Moving air | Forming
images | Reflecting light | Electricity
and magnetism | Spinning things | Making
sense | Changing colours | Making
sounds and waves | Moving to and fro
| Thinking about shapes
This is an old set of proven ideas, for reference. My latest designs are
far better!
Forming
images
Shadow
screen
TEXT:
Put your hand in front of the light
to make some shadows on the screen.
To make a "giant hand" appear,
do you have to put your hand closer to the light, or further away? This
looks quite strange to people standing at the other side of the screen.
To make sharp-edged shadows like these, you
need a small source of light, or one that is a long way away.
Simple, but very popular and effective. Groups of children often spend
a long time at this.
Hanging
lens
(Sorry, no picture.)
TEXT:
Look at the picture that appears
on the white screen.
Is this image on the screen the right way
up? What happens if you move the glass lens that is making the image?
Try moving the lens forwards or backwards. This
helps you get a sharper image of the things you want to see, by focusing
things that may be closer or further away.
A hands-on glass lens hangs in front of a white screen.
Crystal
ball
TEXT:
Things look very different when
you see them through this ball.
Which way up does everything appear? What
happens to your friends' faces?
This is actually a glass flask filled with water.
Is it true that the only rays of light which are not bent as they shine
through it are those passing exactly through the middle?
Again, simple, but very popular and effective.
Kaleidoscope
(Sorry, no picture.)
TEXT:
Duck underneath and stand in the
middle.
Can you see a lot of familiar faces?
A triangular assembly of large, flat mirrors, all facing inwards. It
is strongly and safely fabricated, with a steel frame and high quality
mirrors in laminated glass.
Hand
image
TEXT:
Reach inside and see the strange
reflection that appears.
If you put in your right hand, do you see
an image of a right or a left hand?
Curved mirrors like this (even ones made of
black plastic) can form images that appear to hover in front. When you
can, look closely at the inside surface of some shiny spoons.
This produces a staggeringly surprising effect. Once again, no moving
parts, and little to go wrong.
Liquid
crystals
TEXT:
Press your hand against the black
table top, then look at the picture it leaves behind.
It is the heat of your hand that makes the
colours appear. Are your fingers warmer or cooler than the palm of your
hand?
This heat-sensitive material is used for making
flat, stick-on thermometers.
GREAT
EXPLORATIONS - Moving air | Forming
images | Reflecting light | Electricity
and magnetism | Spinning things | Making
sense | Changing colours | Making
sounds and waves | Moving to and fro
| Thinking about shapes
This is an old set of proven ideas, for reference. My latest designs are
far better!
|
