Earlier this year, a simple afternoon drink with friends reminded me how light can be used as a context to teach science, from physics through to biology and chemistry.
Tonic water (and ice cubes made of tonic water) under the UV-light. Credit: BVG.Studios (https://www.flickr.com/photos/vgb-studios/)
The Luces para Aprender (LPA) program is a regional initiative promoted by the Organization of Ibero-American States for Education, Science and Culture (OEI) and it was approved in 2011 by the Ministries of Education of the Ibero-American countries at the XIX Ibero-American Conference on education in Asuncion, Paraguay. LPA has been nominated in 2015 among the finalist projects for the WISE awards innovative education projects of the Qatar Foundation.
Students in Peru benefitted by the Luces para Aprender Program. Credit: Luces para Aprender.
True 3D visualisation has been theorised about and fantasised over for the past fifty years. Every science-fiction fan, not to mention the scientific community, knows that the best way to make 3D images is using holographic or similar techniques. The term ‘hologram’ is derived from the Greek meaning ‘whole image’. Holograms are able to capture and reproduce both the brightness and direction of light emerging from a 3D object or scene. This is unlike a photograph, which only stores brightness, without a sense of direction, thus yielding a two-dimensional representation.
So, what is holographic 3D? The scientific definition of holography is image creation using the physical principles of diffraction. Most of us are familiar with the notion of reflections off a mirror and the refraction or bending of light in water. Diffraction occurs when light scatters from structures that are the same size or smaller than the light. Diffraction can reproduce both refraction and reflection effects, making it a powerful optical phenomenon.
Anatomical Medical Image with 3 channels. Credit: Holoxica Ltd.
Find below the activities listed on the IYL 2015 Event Programme starting between 28 September – 4 October. Click on the links for more information on the different activities.
Please note that some last-minute additions to the event programme may not appear here. For an up-to-date overview of IYL 2015 events please visit the IYL 2015 Event Programme.
Hundreds of children and their parents attended daytime event at the National Museum of the American Indian in September for hands-on activities and fun — and to learn about light and light technologies.
Earlier this month, as I crunched the crushstone and pounded the pavement on a sticky, late-summer Saturday, the singular thought occurred to me that the day had finally arrived. Nearly an entire year’s worth of preparation, countless contributions by a dizzying number of volunteers, weekly meetings over the phone for months, late night wrangling over last minute details, and it had all come down to this: hundreds of children having fun as their parents and caregivers watched.
As the half-day event called “Wonders of Light: Family Science Fun” was getting started at the National Museum of the American Indian, I was wandering the adjacent promenade, handing out fliers to families. Some of the same families I saw again later that afternoon, participating in the event.
Credit: Jason Bardi.
International Year of Light Blog 