We usually don't think much about our vision unless you are having trouble seeing something. However, vision is actually a complicated process occurring between our eyes and our brain! Actually, there are millions of little switches in our eyes that pick out what we see.
The following activities will help you discover how our eyes work and why we see things. We hope you enjoy these activities and do them together as a family.
Activities
Seeing in the Dark
Do we see things the same in the daytime as we do in the nighttime? Since there are two different types of cells in our eyes that help us see, then you actually may not! In this activity, you can see for yourself if colors look the same in day as in the evening.
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Modeling the Eye then Taking a Picture
Does our brain change what we "see"? Actually, because of the shapes of our eyes, the images we see are turned upside down! Luckily, our brains change the image so we see it right side up. In this activity, you can see how the eye works using a pinhole scope!
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Invisible Ink: Modeling a Molecular Switch
Does our eye actually act like a switch? In our eye is a molecule called retinal. When light hits our eyes, the retinal in our eyes "switches on" our vision! In this activity, you can model the switch in our eyes using invisible ink!
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Blue Skies: The Answer to the Age-Old Question
Why is the sky blue? Have you ever asked that question to be told a silly answer such as, "because the sky is the reflection of the ocean" or "because it's your favorite color." Although the answer is not easy to this question, we will explore it through experimentation with some common household items.
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Color Mixing with Roy G. Biv
How do we see color? Our eyes see only see the colors red, green, and blue. In our eyes, these three colors "mix together" to make all of the colors that we see! In this activity, you can discover more about how our eyes see color.
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Make Your Own Optical Illusions
Have you ever seen an optical illusion? A famous one is seeing something in the desert that isn't there! Your brain makes "rules" about how you see things and your eye has a hard time of breaking them. Make your own optical illusions using this activity!
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UV Beads
Have you ever been burned by the sun? This sunburn was due to ultraviolet (UV) radiation from the sun! In this activity, you can use a special type of bead that reacts to UV radiation and discover the effectiveness of sunscreen.
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