Science Activities for Rainbows

Light waves of different wavelengths appear to be of different colors to the human eye. Shorter wavelengths can translate into a blue color and longer wavelengths can translate into a red color. The range of colors in sunlight include all the colors of a rainbow. When sunlight falls onto rain droplets, it bends and splits up into different colors. You can see a rainbow if you look directly at rain with rays of sunlight coming from behind you onto the droplets.
  1. Demonstrating a Rainbow with a Flask of Water and Cardboard

    • Cut out a circular hole in the center of a square piece of cardboard. Place a flask filled with water at level with and behind the hole in the cardboard. Place this apparatus in direct sunlight so rays of sunshine enter through the hole in the cardboard onto the flask of water. You should see a dim rainbow on the cardboard.

    Using a Prism to Study Rainbows

    • Shine a projector light onto a prism. Move the prism around until you can see a rainbow of colors on the wall. Look at the shape and order of the colors as you move the prism.

    Finding a Rainbow on Your Lawn

    • Turn on a sprinkler in your garden or lawn on a sunny day. Stand so that the sunshine is falling on your back and you are viewing the water from the sprinkler. View the rainbow in the water spraying from the sprinkler.

    Creating Rainbows Without Rain

    • Add a few drops of universal indicator into a graduated container half-filled with hydrochloric acid. Pour in a solution of saturated sodium carbonate. Watch as a rainbow of colors forms in the container due to the variation of acid-base content.

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