Brighten your December with the wonders of light at the Science Mill!
Experiment with lasers and lenses, mix colorful lights, and discover optical illusions that trick your eyes.
Get creative with paper circuits as you design light-up holiday greetings, then build your own glowing LED lightsaber. Explore how light bends, blends, and brings your creations to life through hands-on activities that spark imagination and discovery!
(Closed Christmas Eve and Christmas Day)
Lasers, Lenses, and Lights:
Let’s experiment with light! What will happen when we combine different colored lights? Can you create different colors, and replicate the Aurora Borealis? How about white light from colored light? Try to reverse images with water, and see how different objects refract light. This activity has lots to do with Lasers, Lenses, and Lights!
Tricks of the Eye: Crafting & Catching Optical Illusions:
Unravel the mysteries of visual perception with Optical Illusion! In this exciting hands-on STEAM activity, students craft and customize their own spinning tops to explore how our eyes and brains interpret motion, color, and light. Watch colors seamlessly blend and static patterns spring to life—a captivating way to demonstrate key concepts like persistence of vision and neural adaptation!
Light-Up Greetings:
Bring your holiday greetings to life with the magic of paper circuits! In this fun, hands-on activity, stuLED lightsaber:dents explore the fundamentals of electronic circuits without needing any soldering irons or complex tools. Using accessible materials like conductive copper tape, a coin cell battery, and a light-emitting diode (LED), participants construct functional, low-voltage circuits directly on paper templates. Whether designing a twinkling Christmas stocking card or an illuminated festive greeting, students gain a clear, intuitive understanding of open and closed circuits, polarity, and electrical conductivity—all while expressing their artistic creativity!
Illuminating Luminescence: weekend only
Step into the dark room and discover the magic of light! In this hands-on activity, guests will explore the fascinating science of luminescence by comparing glow sticks, fluorescent minerals, and glowing organisms to see how light is produced through chemistry, radiation, and nature.
LED Lightsaber:
In this exciting activity, young warriors will create their own functioning sword of light! Forging one’s own light saber is something every would-be Jedi warrior must accomplish! Can you assemble the needed supplies and create a functioning LED light saber? May the force be with you!
