Making periscopes in Science

How do we see things?

This term we are exploring how light travels. So far we understand how light travels from a light source, such as the sun, to our eyes. We know that light only travels in straight lines, but can be reflected. Some materials are more reflective than others, allowing more light to be bounced off the objects and into our eyes. This is why we can see a shiny coin easier than a black button when in a dark room: the coin is more reflective, so more of the available light is reflected off the coin and into our eyes.

We have experimented with the angle of reflection, and understand that the angle of the light when it hits the mirror is the same as the angle of the light when reflected off the mirror, only in the opposite direction. We investigated using the angle of mirrors as a variable in order to reflect a light source around the room onto a target.

Our next investigation was to make a periscope, so that we can see around corners. We did this by carefully positioning two mirrors, in order to reflect the light at the correct angles, enabling us to see. Have a look at the photos below to see how much fun was had!

We will also be investigating how shadows are formed, and using our knowledge of light and shadows to create shadow puppet theatre.

Watch this space for more details...