Light Action!

This seems to be the week for educational posts, and as they say on Monty Python, "now for something completely different" - a book about optics. I was just reminded of this by a caller who wanted to know about educational resources related to optics (triggered by my own Optics for Kids web site). I mentioned the book Light Action! (subtitled "Amazing Experiments with Optics," by Vicki Cobb and Josh Cobb, with illustrations by Theo Cobb). This book features a series of simple but enlightening experiments with light, using household materials such as flashlights, water, ice cubes, sunglasses, and TV remote controls. The experiments are easy to do and are followed by clear "here's what's happening" explanations of the optics involved.

This delightful 1993 science book for grades 6 and up went out of print some years ago, but I just checked Amazon and found that it's back in print, in a 2005 paperback edition from SPIE Press (SPIE is the optical engineering professional society).