Science Day - Light
Investigating Light
Year 6 enjoyed making their own periscopes during our Science day. A periscope reflects light to enable you to see an image of an object around a corner or over the top of another object.
Year 6 children explored how this works by making their very own out of cereal boxes! They discovered that light from a light source hits an object; this light then travels through the top window and hits the first mirror. The light then bounces off this mirror down the periscope and hits the second mirror. Following this, the light ray is reflected off the mirror and travels out of the viewing window to our eyes: we can see an image of the object!
We found this so fascinating and had great fun both making these and then researching the work of Scientist Isaac Newton. The first reflecting telescope was built by Sir Isaac Newton in 1668 and is a landmark in the history of telescopes. Being the first known successful reflecting telescope, it was the prototype for a design that later came to be called a Newtonian telescope.
