Rainbow Science Lesson And Activities
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Who doesn’t marvel at the sight of a rainbow? We always run outside when the sun peeks out from a rain shower just to find the rainbow. You never get too old for that.
Rainbows are beautiful, but they can be educational as well. You can use this rainbow science lesson and the activities at the end of the post to learn about light, wavelengths, color, and nature.
The Science Of Light And Color
The Science Of Light And Rainbows

Rainbow Science Activities
Rainbows are easy and fun to create. All you need is water and light. These fun rainbow science activities will let you create your own rainbow and learn more about them.
Garden Hose Rainbow – On a sunny day, spray water from a garden hose into the air. Make sure you are between the water and the sun. A rainbow should appear in the spray of water.
Make Your Own Prism – Create a prism with a glass of water. Fill a glass ¾ full of water. Place the glass on a white piece of paper. Set the glass where sunlight or a flashlight can shine through it. The water in the glass will act like a prism and bend the light into a rainbow on the white paper. The angle of light can be adjusted until you see the rainbow.
Use A Prism – Get a prism and a piece of white paper. Allow sunlight or light from a flashlight shine through the prism. Position the paper so that the light from the prism shines on the paper. This light should be in the form of a rainbow!
Create A Spectroscope – Create a homemade spectroscope to split light into different wavelengths to make a rainbow.
To create rainbows without water and light, try these fun ideas.
Pipe Cleaners And Beads Rainbows – This is a fun tactile project to learn about the colors of the rainbow.
Rainbow Density Activities – Learn about the density of liquids along with the colors of the rainbow either in a jar or in a pipette.
Lego Rainbows – Create a rainbow out of Legos.
Weather Lesson
Study the weather that creates rainbows with this weather unit study.