Optical Telescopes
Learn about the history of telescopes and the function of refracting and reflecting optical telescopes.
How could you build a refracting telescope using water as the lenses?
Build your own refracting telescope using glasses of water as the lenses.
Reflection and Refraction
Learn about reflection and refraction and meet Emily Altiere, a PhD student in physics who studies lasers.
The Optics of Telescopes
Learn about telescopes, how they work & why they're important to astronomers.
Why is everything so small down there?
Explore how we see things far and near and from different angles. It's all about perspective!
Why do we need two eyes to see?
Ever wondered why we have two eyes (and not one, three or more)? Find how your two eyes work together in this hands-on activity.
What's in a Rainbow?
Rainbows are beautiful examples of optics in nature. We see them thanks to the reflection and refraction of visible light and water.
What is white light?
Find out what happens if you spin the colours of the rainbow in this hands-on activity.
Reflectors
7 images of some objects that can reflect light such as mirrors, Mylar balloons and water
Is a green apple always green?
What does light have to do with colour? Observe some colourful fruit under different conditions to learn why we see the colours we see!
How Do We See Colour?
How does the human eye see visible light as colour? And why do some people see more colours than others?
