You know what makes a rainbow, right? Drops of water bend sunlight—this is called refraction—and each color in the sunlight bends at a slightly different angle.
A
rainbow is a full circle, but because the sun is always fairly low in
the sky when rainbows appear, we can usually only see the top half of
the circle.
There are very rare times when we see a rainbow-colored
halo around the moon, because of high icy clouds at night. There are
also rare sightings from airplanes of circular rainbows, and even
rarer sightings of horizon rainbows—which seem to be horizontal
stripes—at sunset or dawn.
To
celebrate the day, make rainbows! Find rainbows! Share rainbows!
The
simplest way to make a rainbow is to spray water into the air.
Remember, the sun cannot be overhead; also, you must stand with your
back to the sun.
Another
simple rainbow-maker is a glass prism. If you don't have a prism, do
you have mirrors or glass with beveled edges? As I put the cut-glass
goblets away tonight in a cabinet with beveled glass doors, I made
lots of teeny rainbows.
You
can make and share rainbows by making:
- cookies
colored with food coloring,
- drawings and paintings,
- even balloon arches!
- If you are really inspired, you can hold a rainbow party—since it is also World Party Day (see below)!
By
the way...
I
read that the Irish never believed in pots of gold at the end of
rainbows. This myth got started because of a misunderstanding of an
old saying. The saying went something like this (but in Gaelic):
“You're as likely to find a pot of gold as you are to find the end
of a rainbow.” In other words, neither of these things is going to
happen!
Hat
tip to Den School blog and homeschool mom Mindy!
Also
on this date:
So glad you commented on DenSchool - I love your site!! Some days I need a reason to celebrate!! Can't wait to explore your awesome site!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Mindy! I loved your post and poking around Den School, too!
ReplyDelete