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Electromagnetic Spectrum Activity for Kids

Make a Rainbow DIY

  • Duration: 15 min
  • Difficulty: Easy
  • Cost: $0 to $5

Learn how to separate white light into different colors!

Visit The Full Lesson Download Instructions as PDF

Material List

  • 3Glasses of Water
  • 1White Piece of Paper
  • 1Light from a Smartphone

Instructions

  • 1Take a glass of water and set it by the edge of the paper.
  • 2Turn on your light and shine it through the glass of water and onto the paper at an angle.
  • 3Try different angles and distances until you see a rainbow. It will take some trial and error!
  • TipSome glasses work better than others so experiment to see what is best.

How It Works

When white light passes from the air and into the water, the different wavelengths of visible light bend and change direction slightly. Some wavelengths bend more than others, allowing us to see different colors. This is why we see rainbows after it rains! The red light has the longest wavelength and the blue light has the strongest wavelength.

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Check out the Full Lesson on Electromagnetic Spectrum

In this lesson, we learn that:

  • Electromagnetic radiation is a type of wave that transfers energy.
  • It includes radio waves, microwaves, infrared waves, visible light, UV light, X-rays, and gamma rays.
  • The difference between all of these is the wavelength of the radiation.

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