Light Web Links
Our writers recommended these independent web sites as background information and content supplements for the Light lessons.
The Pinhole Photography Information and Tool Kit
This site lists resources for obtaining pinhole camera kits and pinhole camera construction information. This site also contains links to other pinhole photography resources.
Bob Miller’s Light Walk- Making a Pinhole Camera
Provides detailed instructions for how to make a pinhole camera at home with readily accessible materials.
Provides downloadable pictures of the moon to use in the Further Science Exploration for Light Lesson 4 when the children consider how sunlight reflects off the moon.
Provides information on the life of Caroline Herschel, a woman astronomer in the 18th century who developed telescopes and was the first woman to discover a comet.
NASA Optics: Light, Color, and Their Uses
This site provides an online packet of activities developed by NASA for children in grades K-12. Explores light and color in conjunction with science and mathematics. Many topics go into more depth than needed for 3rd grade, but still a good resource site for the teacher.
Science Hobbyist- Misconceptions Page
This site is a compilation of misconceptions that children have about a variety of physical science concepts, including light.
Light Tour- Discover Light’s Mysteries
This site, developed by the Center for Science Education at the Space Sciences Lab, takes you on a tour to explore wavelengths of light, types of light, how astronomers use different wavelengths, and what they see. A good resource site for the teacher, but too technical for the children.
This site details the accomplishments of women astronomers in the past, including Caroline Herschel and Maria Mitchell, whose discoveries advanced the science of light.
This site contains a wealth of links to other sites on light and resources for teachers to use about light.
This site contains details information about scientists who advanced the study of light and optics.
This site contains a wealth of activities on light and optics, including those on lenses, mirrors, shadows, microscopes, eyeglasses, and animal vision.
This site provides information on animal vision, with specific exploration into birds and bats. A good site for enrichment activities for children who are curious about how animals see compared to humans.
How We See- The First Steps of Human Vision
This reference site provides the teacher with detailed information on how we see. Specific processes that occur with the eye and brain are detailed in a comprehensible way, and historical information on the understanding of vision is also integrated into the text.
Provides a detailed timeline of the historical development of our understanding of light from 3500 B.C. to 1968.
This site, sponsored by the Annenberg/CPB Channel, provides a collection of links related to light. An excellent resource site for teachers.
Created by General Electric, this Unit deals with light from a scientific, mathematical, technological, and historical perspective. Hands-on activities and experiments are included.