Kaleidoscope science: Dazzling lessons explore how color can trick the eye--and the brain.

Name That Color * Explore the fascinating connection between colors and words in this psychology experiment. Pair off students and give each pair 10 white index cards. On the front of the first 5 index cards, have students use colored pencils or markers to clearly write the following words in the color indicated in the parentheses: orange (green), blue (red), red (purple), green (red), purple (orange). On the second 5 cards: tpk (orange), grkp (blue), cms (red), mcrtp (green), qstpm (purple). Now have partners quiz each other. One student holds up the cards, while the other tries to name the actual color he or she sees. How long did it take them to name the color? Did they name any of the colors incorrectly? Did the nonsense words make it easier or more difficult? As a class, discuss how the words affected their ability to name the colors.

Color Tricks * There's more to color than meets the eye! Pass out the reproducible, opposite. Ask children to test out the "Color Spinner" and describe what happens. The three colors blend together, reflecting white light back to our eyes. Would mixing these three colors of paint also result in white? (No.) Have students research and experiment to discover why not. Next, have them try the "Color Switcheroo" activity, then design and color more afterimage tests.

Rainbow Maker * In the 17th century, Isaac Newton discovered that when light passes through a transparent substance called a prism, it bends and separates into a spectrum of colors. Your students can make a simple homemade prism with water and paper. First, fill a clear plastic cup halfway with water and place the cup on the edge of a sunny windowsill. Have students take turns holding a sheet of white paper below the cup, parallel with the windowsill, so the cup's shadow falls on the paper. Students should adjust the paper until a bright spot appears in the shadow. Lastly, have them tilt the paper toward the ground until a rainbow appears. Discuss: What colors do they see? What color does sunlight normally appear to be? Have students draw what they observed.

Crazy Contrasts

With this lesson, students will think that colors are changing shades before their very eyes. 1. Give students one orange sheet and one blue sheet of paper. Have them cut the blue sheet in half. 2. Have students tape the blue sheet to cover half of the orange sheet. Next, supply a selection of paint-sample cards. Ask each student to choose an orange color from one of the cards. 3. Have them cut this color block into two squares. 4. Glue one square on the orange half of the sheet and one on the blue half. Do the squares appear to be different shades? The greater the background contrast, the more "orange" the square appears.

Patricia Janes is the senior editor of Scholastic's SuperScience magazine.