You will need the following items to complete this project: scissors, cardboard, prism and white paper. Use scissors to cut a slit in the piece of cardboard. Be sure to make the slit large enough to allow rays of sunshine to pass through. Place the cardboard in a window where there is sunshine. Hold the prism in one hand, between the window and the cardboard, and hold the white paper in the other hand. You will see a rainbow where the sunshine comes through the slit and hits the paper.
You will need the following items to complete this project: clear glass bowl, pebbles or marbles, and water. Fill the bowl halfway with pebbles or marbles. Add water to the bowl until it is 3/4 full. Looking through the side of the bowl, reach in and try to pick up a pebble. The glass bowl distorts perception through refraction. The curved glass bends the light and changes the way things appear when you look through it.
You will need the following items to complete this project: clear glass or plastic jar with opaque lid, a postage stamp or sticker, and water. Place the stamp or sticker on a flat surface. Set the jar with a lid on top of the stamp. You will still be able to view the stamp when looking through the sides of the jar. Remove the jar and fill it with water. Replace the lid and set the jar back on top of the stamp. You will no longer be able to see the stamp. Refraction causes images to appear displaced.
You will need the following items to complete this project: a clear drinking glass, water, and a straw or pencil. Fill the drinking glass 3/4 full with water. Place a pencil or straw in the glass of water. Look through the side of the glass. The object appears to be bent. This is caused by the changes in the speed of light as it passes through the air and into the water.