Rainbow Science Lesson And Activities

rainbow science lesson and activities

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

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Light is made up of electromagnetic waves that are visible to the eye. These waves of light vary in their wavelengths creating color. When lights hits an object, certain wavelengths are absorbed and others are reflected. We see those reflected wavelengths of light as color. For example, if you see green leaves on a tree, the green wavelengths of light are reflecting off the leaves.

When we see the color black, that object is absorbing almost all the wavelengths of light. (This is why black shirts and cars get so hot in the summertime absorbing all those hot rays of sunlight.) White objects are actually a combination of all colors. They reflect all the wavelengths of light.

The Science Of Light And Rainbows

rainbow science

When sunlight passes through raindrops in the sky, the drops act like tiny prisms. A prism is a special piece of glass or other clear material with angled sides. When white light enters one side of the prism, the light bends, or refracts. This makes the wavelengths separate into colors. These colors appear in the sky as a rainbow.

Rainbows appear in the sky when the sun shines through raindrops and the viewer is between the sun and those raindrops. The sun needs to be low in the sky (morning or early evening) for this to happen.

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 activity 3

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.

I hold a master’s degree in child development and early education and am working on a post-baccalaureate in biology. I spent 15 years working for a biotechnology company developing IT systems in DNA testing laboratories across the US. I taught K4 in a private school, homeschooled my children, and have taught on the mission field in southern Asia. For 4 years, I served on our state’s FIRST Lego League tournament Board and served as the Judging Director. I own thehomeschoolscientist and also write a regular science column for Homeschooling Today Magazine. You’ll also find my writings on the CTCMath blog. Through this site, I have authored over 50 math and science resources.