WEST MICHIGAN — Seeing a rainbow in the sky is always a stunning sight! But, have you ever tried to create a rainbow at home? In this week's weather kids science experiment, Haleigh Vaughn creates an indoor rainbow with Mrs. Tiller's 1st grade classroom at Gobles Elementary. This experiment was created by Weather Wiz Kids.
You can find all of the materials you need at your local grocery store, or you may already have the materials at home. It's a simple experiment that can be really fun with little ones!
Here's what you need:
1) Glass jar or a large drinking glass
2) Small mirror
3) Flashlight
4) Dark room with white walls
Here are the steps:
1) Fill the glass jar or large drinking glass with water.
2) Place the mirror inside the water filled jar or glass.
3) Tilt the mirror slightly upward.
4) In a very dark room with white walls, shine the flashlight onto the mirror.
A rainbow will appear! (Note: If no rainbow appears at first, just change the angle of the light from the flashlight or change the angle of the mirror.)
While doing this experiment with Gobles Elementary, a bright and small rainbow was captured on the ceiling!
Are you curious how this happens? Here's the explanation from Weather Wiz Kids:
"The mirror reflects light that passes back through the water, traveling at an angle. The water bends, or refracts, the light. As the light bends, it separates into the colors of the rainbow...red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet."
You can find dozens of Weather Kids science experiments to try at home or in the classroom with the FOX 17 Weather Team via our website!