Hello, and welcome back to STEAM Saturday! If you are in search of a fun and fascinating indoor activity that blends science and art, look no further! Through the”Magic” Drawing activity from gosciencekids.com, your child will learn about light refraction. All you need is a glass of water, a piece of paper, and a pen or a marker.
Draw two arrows – one on top of the other, and hold the bottom arrow behind the glass of water. Notice that the arrow is now pointing backwards! Here’s the science behind the experiment, from Go Science Kids:
What we are seeing here is a physics concept called refraction, or the bending of light. When light passes through transparent objects (in this case, the front of the glass, the water, and the back of the glass), it refracts or bends. When the glass is full of water, it acts as a cylindrical convex lens, and produces an inverted image. The inverted image may appear larger, smaller or the same size, depending on where you position the paper, the glass, and your viewpoint. Another variable is the size (diameter) of the glass.
There are a lot of questions you can ask your child, and many things to try that will keep your child engaged and spark their creativity for hours!
Click HERE for the full experiment!
We’ll see you right back here next Saturday for another STEAM Saturday activity! Scroll through the rest of our website to learn how Critchlow Adkins is Building Brighter Futures for the children and families we serve!
