Color Play: Exploring Visible Light With Colored Markers and Light

Welcome to an engaging and educational activity designed to bring the magic of light and color to life! This project is tailored for first graders but can inspire learners of all ages. Through hands-on experiments and guided discussions, students will discover how light allows us to see the world and how different colors of light can completely change what we see.

Using simple materials like desk lamps, colored films, markers, and paper, you'll guide young scientists in writing secret messages and unveiling the fascinating interplay between light and color. This fun and interactive project aligns with Georgia's science education standards (GSE S1P1), helping children understand the basics of light and how it interacts with objects.

Whether you're a teacher, parent, or DIY enthusiast, this activity is perfect for sparking curiosity and encouraging creative exploration. Let’s dive into the colorful world of visible light!

1. Colored film (we used binder separators)
2. Paper with different colored shapes (we did red, green, and blue triangles, squares, and circles)

Additional Supplies to expand the assignment:

1. red, green, blue markers
2. paper (white copy paper)

To introduce our students to the visible light spectrum and its impact on how we perceive the world, we created an engaging PowerPoint presentation. This visual tool explained the concept of visible light and set the stage for hands-on exploration. To illustrate how colored light influences what we see, we demonstrated using various colored lights.

To spark curiosity and critical thinking, we posed thought-provoking questions like, “If our sun turned red, what color would the grass appear?” We enhanced this discussion with an image from Google depicting a red sun, which helped students visualize the concept and draw their own conclusions. This combination of interactive teaching and guided inquiry made the lesson both informative and memorable.

Link to slides used:

Google Slides:

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1Zp_mpwcamlfFsOaiw0T9oSz23iBQqSDrqXeCLJwiSxk/edit?usp=sharing

We encouraged students to experiment with binder separators, stacking and combining them while collaborating with one another to explore how color influences what our eyes can see. They were thrilled to discover how red shapes seemed to disappear when viewed through the red film.

Since our lesson was relatively short, we wrapped up the activity here. However, for a longer session, you could extend the exploration by inviting students to create their own artwork using red, blue, or green markers or crayons. They could then use the binder separators as filters to observe how their drawings change under different colors of light. This extension would add an artistic element while reinforcing the scientific principles in a fun and interactive way!

To wrap up our lesson, we gathered the students for a quick group discussion to reflect on their observations and discoveries. We asked questions like:

1. “What did you notice when you used the different colored lights?”
2. “Why do you think red shapes disappeared under the red filter?”
3. “How do you think light affects the way we see colors in the real world?”

By encouraging students to share their thoughts, we helped them connect their hands-on experiences to the broader concepts of light and color. We emphasized how light is essential for seeing and how the type and color of light can change what we perceive.

Finally, we celebrated their curiosity and creativity, reminding them that science is all about asking questions and making discoveries. This discussion helped reinforce key concepts and ensured the students left with a better understanding of the visible light spectrum and its fascinating effects.