How To Make A Rainbow With A Prism

Rainbows are gorgeous and sometimes you can see one in the sky! But do you know you can also make rainbows for easy kid’s science activities at home or school? Explore light and refraction when you make rainbows using a variety of simple supplies. Awesome hands-on science for kids of all ages. Enjoy fun science experiments and STEM activities all year round.

HOW TO MAKE RAINBOWS

PRISM ACTIVITIES FOR KIDS

Explore how to make a rainbow with a prism. Learn about refraction of light with these hands-on, easy rainbow activities for kids. Our science experiments are designed with you, the parent or teacher, in mind. Easy to set up, quick to do, most activities will take only 15 to 30 minutes to complete and are heaps of fun. Plus, our supplies lists usually contain only free or cheap materials you can source from home.

HOW TO MAKE A RAINBOW

What happens when light bends? You can make rainbows! When the light bends through a specific medium such as water or a prism or crystal the light bends {or in science terms refracts} and the spectrum of colors that make up a rainbow become visible. Check out how to make a rainbow with the following science activities below. We used a crystal, CD, flashlight, and a cup of water to bend light and make simple rainbows quickly and easily. Let’s get started!

FUN WAYS TO MAKE RAINBOWS

Kids can make rainbows with simple supplies. It’s tons of fun and can lead to so many types of exploration. I was very impressed when my son already knew about bending light. Kids absorb so much more than we realize from everyday conversations.

YOU WILL NEED:

CDs
Flashlight
Colored Pencils
Prism or Crystal
Water and Cup
White Paper

1. CD AND FLASHLIGHT

Make awesome rainbows using a small flashlight and a CD. Shine the light from your flashlight onto the surface of the CD to make a bold beautiful rainbow each time.

Make rainbows science idea with a CD and flashlight

2. CRYSTAL AND NATURAL LIGHT

Use a crystal or a prism and natural sunlight to make rainbows everywhere. We made tiny rainbows all over the ceilings and walls as the light bent on all the different faces of the crystal. I can’t wait to try with a prism next time.

Make rainbows with a crystal prism to bend light

3. CD RAINBOW STEAM

Combine rainbows and art with this simple STEAM idea. Different angles, different hues! Place your CD on top of a blank piece of paper and color around it with the matching shade.

Make rainbows with CDs and colored pencils for Rainbow STEAM

4. CRYSTAL AND CD RAINBOW

Combine the crystal and CD to make colorful rainbows. Also, use the crystal to check out the colored pencil rainbow drawings! $Make rainbows combining crystal prism and CD to refract light$

5. FLASHLIGHT, CUP OF WATER AND PAPER

Place a clear cup filled with water on top of a box or container. Have a white sheet of paper handy {or a few}. Place the paper out on the floor and tape to the wall. Use the flashlight to make neat rainbows by shining it into the water at different angles. Tough to capture with our camera, but you can get an idea. Which angle works best? Light bends through the water.

Make rainbows using water and a flashlight to bend light

6. EXPLORE LIGHT SCIENCE

Give your kid a flashlight and the play and discovery opportunities are endless. You can also make shadow puppets while you make easy rainbows! Who knew! He had an awesome time bending light.

There is really no wrong way to experiments with these rainbow science ideas. Step back and let your child enjoy making rainbows with light. make sure to keep your eyes open for a rainbow after a rain shower too. Great way to put the two ideas together!

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