LIGHT FANTASTIC /

INVISIBLE LIGHT!

ONLINE AFTERSCHOOL PROGRAMS

A Virtual STEM Afterschool Program that Explores LIGHT
Key materials for HANDS-ON projects provided

  • Light Fantastic / Invisible Light is taught 1 day per week for either 8 or 10 weeks.
  • Duration: Each meeting includes a 60 minute interactive live Zoom session.
  • Extended activities: At least 1 additional hour of activities may be explored before the next scheduled Zoom session.
  • A Zoom link to the afterschool program is provided with purchase.
  • Each attendee is sent a companion book and kit uniquely configured for this program.

Age: 1st – 3rd (Level 1); 4th-6th (Level 2) grades

Price: $160 (8 week program) or $200 (10 week program).
Both include a book and materials sold separately ($30). Additional materials for the 10 week program includes an added cost of ($10).

NOTE: There is an additional ONE TIME fee for a mobile phone or tablet stand ($15) that allows the instructor to view the attendees work surface directly. This SECOND camera lets the instructor observe each project closeup and facilitates feedback and mentoring. The stand is reusable with all ScienceWiz Afterschool Programs and Camps.

To enroll, please contact the office for schedule and availability.


WHAT STUDENTS WILL DO

Explore the fantastic topic of LIGHT. Includes a beloved set of hands-on experiments tested over many years in ScienceWiz® afterschool programs and camps. These hand-on projects are combined with a captivating virtual experience and live Zoom mentoring.

A beautiful, full-color companion book guides children through additional hands-on projects.
A family using the LIGHT kit at home. Toddler joining in!

BEGIN WITH LIGHT FANTASTIC

  • Light sources and moonlight. Split white sunlight into a cascade of rainbows. Use an LED lightwand and an online simulation to mix the primary colors of light (RGB).
  • Bounce, bend and blend light. Explore what mirrors do to images. Play an “I Spy” game with mirrors. REFLECT! Make a basic kaleidoscope. See a human and a fractal kaleidoscope — WOW!
  • Absorb, reflect and filter light. What ARE the primary colors of paints, inks and crayons? Explore color vision: Take a color blind test. Find out what a color blind person actually sees.
  • Prove that light travels in a straight line. Hold on! Is this strictly true? Explore transparent to opaque and see animals that are nearly transparent! What does “invisible” really mean? Scatter light. Why is the sky blue?
  • Capture a shadow and create a shadow puppet show. Make HUGE shadows. Manipulate your shadows. Sharpen them or make the edges fuzzy. Umbra, penumbra!
Time for some experiments with lenses! Don’t look at the sun!

OBSERVE THE VERY SMALL, THE VERY LARGE AND EVEN THE INVISIBLE

  • Shadows made by the Sun, the Moon and the Earth. Umbra and penumbra yet again! Make and use a sundial. Model a lunar and solar eclipse. Eclipse a ball with a coin
  • Mold your own convex and concave lenses. Magnify and shrink images with lenses. What makes a lens a lens? Combine lenses — Hocus Pocus where is the focus?
  • Craft your own microscope and telescope. Discover how the eye focuses. Explore vision and lenses.
  • Take the temperature of a rainbow and discover the invisible by detecting INFRARED light. What does the world look like in INFRARED and ULTRAVIOLET light?
  • Learn more about invisible light! Explore optical illusions with the experts. Learn how to fool all the people, all the time!

The ScienceWiz Light Afterschool Programs are favorites –– where science and art do, indeed, merge. These immersive afterschool sessions is packed with enthralling activities, from hands-on projects to online interactive simulations, games and mind-bending optical illusions. Through the live online events, students gain confidence and participate with others to learn, share and grow.


MATERIALS NEEDED BEFORE THE PROGRAM BEGINS

MATERIALS (The welcoming email following enrollment lists the materials.)
  • 1.5 V alkaline battery (can be AA, AAA, C or D cell)
  • translucent small plastic objects (to vary the kaleidoscope)
  • 2 clear plastic cups
  • crayons or markers
  • 1 pencil
  • 1 pen
  • scissors
  • flashlight and a lamp
  • tape (clear or masking tape)
  • water, a few tablespoons of milk, large clear bowl or glass container
  • scrap paper
  • food coloring – red, yellow and blue
  • gelatin – 3 teaspoons or 14 ml of powder (Jello will work too, but requires more to make solid.)
  • permanent black marker (for 10 week class) and a cardboard box.

TECHNOLOGY
  • Desktop, laptop or tablet: must include a speaker and a camera AND
  • A second mobile phone or tablet camera for detailed observation of the projects being built
  • Internet access
  • Zoom application installed
    • Log in with your child’s name
    • Unmuted (the instructor will manage class muting/unmuting)

HERE ARE THE STEM TOPICS EXPLORED DURING BOTH LIGHT AFTERSCHOOL PROGRAMS

  • The fundamentals of light: reflection, refraction, scattering, mixing and splitting light
  • The primary colors of light and paints and how they are different but related
  • The function of the human eye and brain in decoding colors
  • The capture and projection of shadows
  • Shadows cast by our Sun, Earth and Moon
  • How lenses are made and what they do
  • The simple but fundamental concepts involved in magnification, microscopes, telescopes and cameras
  • Optical illusions and what do they tell us about the brain
  • Light, photons and the speed limit of the universe
  • Invisible light and the electromagnetic spectrum


AWARDS FOR THE BEST SELLER: SCIENCEWIZ® LIGHT


COMMENTS FROM AN EXPERIENCED TEACHER





“I combined these LIGHT projects with ongoing art lessons, thus blending the topics. The book was extremely useful because students could follow up on the days activities independently or in small groups. The autonomy sets children free to make their own discoveries and have fun while internalizing the concepts.”

Ann Einstein, MAT, a retired teacher, Berkeley Unified, Berkeley CA


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