Why Do Things Look Different in the Dark?
Donkey Hodie is very excited to have a super-duper sleepover with her best pal Purple Panda. They have a great time playing music and dress-up, eating spaghetti, dancing, and playing with stuffed animals. After a fun evening, Donkey and Panda are tired and ready to go to sleep. All snuggled into bed, they say goodnight and turn off the lights. All of a sudden, Donkey sees a monster in Panda’s room! She’s scared and tells Panda what she saw. He gets scared, too! Donkey and Panda try to catch the monster. They try sleeping with the lights on. Nothing works to ease their fear. But they soon realize there is nothing to fear at all. The monster is just a pile of their toys that looks different in the dark.
Explore the dark with your child to show them it is nothing to fear. Build your own pile of toys to see what it looks like in the light and then in the dark. Encourage your child to observe the different shapes and textures that make up the pile. Ask your child what they see when it is light and how the pile looks different in the dark. After you’ve completed the activity, you and your child can create a new pile to continue exploring in the dark!
Materials
Directions
When it gets dark outside, invite your child to turn on the lights in their room or another room in your home. Using the toys and other objects gathered, invite your child to join you in making a pile with them on the floor. Encourage them to use different objects with different shapes and textures.
Together with your child, observe the pile that you just made. Ask your child to think about where different toys are placed and what shapes they have. Ask your child to describe the pile by saying, “Is it tall? Is it flat? Does it have a funny shape? Are there more items on one side and fewer items on the other? What does the pile look like when the lights are on?”
Have your flashlight ready, and ask your child to turn off the lights. Together with your child, sit or stand in front of your pile at a bit of a distance. If it’s too dark to see where you’re going, use your flashlight to find the right spot. Once you’re settled, turn off the flashlight.
Now it’s time to make observations in the dark! Take a minute to allow your eyes to adjust to the dark to see the shape of the pile. Then, ask your child what they think the pile looks like now that it’s dark. Do the objects and shapes they saw in the light look different now? Does the pile look like an animal? Or maybe a mountain? Talk with your child about how they feel seeing the pile in the dark by asking, “Does the pile look scary or funny? Does it look like something or someone familiar?” Share what you see with your child!
If you and your child would like to continue with this activity, make another pile using different toys and objects and repeat each step!
Explore Further
Once you and your child are done observing and discussing what they saw, ask them to think about why a certain toy or object might look different in the light compared to the dark. Explain that even though it is harder to see in the dark, it’s possible to use our other senses to find our way around. We can feel with our feet for things on the floor such a rug or toys that might be in our way. We can also feel with our hands for objects such as doorknobs or furniture to help make our way around a room. Our hearing can also help. We can listen for clues that might tell us where to go. For example, if we hear talking or music coming from a certain direction, that might tell us which way the door is. Through books or information online, you might also want to invite your child to learn about some amazing animals that are really good at seeing in the dark. Owls are a great example, but there are many others to discover.
We hope you had fun together! Snap a photo of you and your child doing the activity and share it with us on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter. We’d love to see how it turned out!
Want more “Donkey Hodie” activities? Check out the Make a Donkey Hodie Puppet craft and the Singing Our Waiting Song activity to continue the fun!
Author: 
Science