We cut out a round troll and put it on a pencil. We made a track for it to roll down. It sort of worked. It didn’t really roll. It more slid.

We put a piece of clay at the inside top of two jar lids and taped them together. Then we made it roll on its own including appearing to defy gravity by rolling up hill.

We built a styrofoam boat by gluing two plates, a bowl, and a cup together. Then we stuck a bendable straw into the bottom of the cup and sealed off the hole. We let it dry overnight and then floated it in a tub of water. We poured water into the cup and watched the boat move around the tub due to the force of the water coming out of the cup through the straw.

We filled a clear cup with water and placed it on a white sheet of paper in the sun. We were very delighted when a rainbow appeared on the paper.

In a dark room we shined a flashlight through a prism. This made a rainbow on the wall. The little boys were especially fascinated by this.

We poked a hole in the side of a shoebox and put a pencil and a ball inside. We could not see the pencil and ball when the lid was on, but could when the lid was off because we need light to see. We poked a hole in the lid and shined a flashlight through the hole. With the added light, we could see the objects.

We shined a flashlight onto a book (Kindle) held a few inches above a blank piece of paper. We observed the umbra and penumbra of the shadow.

We made a kaleidoscope using a paper towel tube, some clear plastic formed into a triangle, plastic wrap, waxed paper, and some sequins. It worked really well. Then we covered the clear plastic with aluminum foil and switched the sequins with tissue paper confetti. It didn’t work nearly as well that way.

We put a pencil in a glass of water and observed how the water made the pencil look broken.

We held a glass of water in front of paper and observed how it made the print look bigger (this would’ve worked much better if we had a smooth clear glass).

We blew bubbles using dish soap and water. We observed how the light reflecting off of them made rainbows.

We shined a flashlight into a mirror and observed how it reflected and lit up the wall behind the flashlight.