Encourage kids of all ages to think like scientists by investigating the properties of light and shadows. Can they feel the sunlight on their skin? What can we learn about light when we notice and observe different colors, shadows, and rainbows? Explore light and dark with your child as part of their bedtime routine. Turn on different lights — an overhead light, a bedside lamp and a nightlight, for example — one at a time. Talk about how the room looks when the different lights are on or off. Which one makes the most light/the least light? Where do we see shadows? How do the colors in the room look different when the lights are off?
Questions to Ask Your Child
- How many different things can you think of that make light? What can help us see in the dark?
- How can we make a shadow?
- Is the shape of the shadow the same or different than the object that is making it?
- If we shine a light on something and then move the light closer or further away, what happens to the size of the shadow?
Play and Learn Together With Children 2 to 5
Young children are increasingly aware of light and darkness, especially how it connects to daily routines and changes how we experience the world around us.. As you explore light, talk to your child about what they observe and notice about objects during the day and at night. Do they notice any shadows outside on a sunny day? What if it’s cloudy? Or shadows inside when the lights are on at night? Play with light and shadows with a table setting. Use a flashlight and other materials around the house to put on a shadow play. Four and five-year-olds will enjoy investigating cause-and-effect relationships. Ask them what happens when you move the source of the light to change an object’s shadow.
Put on a Shadow Play
Your child can use a flashlight to explore how blocking a light source can create different sizes of shadows and then put on a shadow play.
Table Setting Shadow Game
Make setting the table fun with this shadow activity!
Make Sun Prints
Observe the sun’s energy while also experiencing nature and making art.
Make a Rainbow Mobile
The bright colors and vibrant sunshine in this rainbow mobile will surely bring a smile to all who see it!
DIY Lantern
Turn a plastic cup into a DIY lantern with this easy craft.
Play and Learn Together With Children 6 to 8
Kids this age continue to notice and explore shadows — and are increasingly interested in what happens to light when it shines through different objects and materials that are transparent (light goes through it) or translucent (some light goes through it). Explore how light changes when transmitted through a material like colored water. Kids at this age enjoy thinking about things in new ways, like exploring the idea of starlight with an out-of-this-world activity, like creating flashlight constellations.
See How Shadows Work
Discover the secret of shadows and why their length changes throughout the day.
Estimate Height With Shadows
45 min activityMeasure the length of shadows to estimate the height of something very tall.
Create Flashlight Constellations
Recreate stars or groups of stars called constellations with paper and a flashlight.
Observe Shadows With a Solar System Mobile
15 min activityObserve how shadows created by a solar system mobile change position as the Earth moves around the sun.
Make a Moon Phase Box
25 min activityMake a moon phase box to get a closer look at how and why the moon’s shape appears to change.
Play and Learn By Myself
Dinosaur and Pterosaur Hand Shadows
Learn how to create four different Dinosaur Train hand shadows with your child.
The Letter L Coloring Page
L is for light!
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