Spectroscope
Activity Developed by the University of Colorado Museum of Natural History
Description/Learning goals:
Prediction – order of the colors
Colors
Shape
Light
Supplies:
- Paper towel roll
- Craft knife or scissors
- Old CD
- Pencil
- Cardboard or cardstock
- Tape
- Markers (optional)
Activity Instructions:
- If you want to decorate your spectroscope, do that first.
- Use a craft knife to cut a slit at a 45 degree angle towards the bottom 4th of the paper towel tube, cutting only about halfway through the tube.
- Across from this slit, cut a small square viewing hole.
- Trace one end of your paper towel roll on cardboard or cardstock. Cut out and cut a rectangle shaped slit in the center of the circle to let light in.
- Tape the circle to the top of your paper towel tube.
- Insert the CD into the slit, with the shiny side of the CD facing up.
- Take your spectroscope outside, and point up at the sky but NOT directly at the sun. Look through the peephole and you should see a rainbow!
- Experiment with other forms of light, like from a candle or a lamp, or when it’s cloudy. How is the rainbow changing?
Science Concepts:
Additional resources
HYPERLINK "https://littlebinsforlittlehands.com/sugar-water-density-rainbow-science-experiment/" https://littlebinsforlittlehands.com/sugar-water-density-rainbow-science-experiment/ connection back to density.
Ways to make rainbows at home
Glass prism
Water spray
Bubbles
CDs
To view a rainbow, you have to be between the sun and the rain, so that the light can shine through the water and create the rainbow in a direction you can see it.
Early Learning 101:
Follow Up: