This column provides background science information for elementary teachers. This month's issue helps teachers to understand color mixing so that they can teach this information to students.

This article describes a chemistry/art activity that originated in an National Science Foundation--funded two-week STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math) academy for grade 4-6 girls. The authors recommend using this investigation in conjunction with other activities focusing on chemical change as a step toward fulfilling the…

Flower petals, acorn hats, exoskeletons of beetles, and lichens are just a few of the objects students may find in a surprising array of vivid colors. These tiny examples from nature's palette can be discovered in a school yard, a park, or even along the edges of a paved sidewalk...it simply takes careful observation! This article describes a…

Conceptually, students are typically introduced to light as a type of wave. However, children struggle to understand this model because it is highly abstract. Light can be represented more concretely using the photon model. According to this scientific model, light emanates from sources as tiny "packets" of energy (called "photons") that move in…

Along with inquiry-based teaching, exploring the elements of art can guide students to view and represent objects realistically. Understanding line, shape, color, value, form, space, and texture helps bridge the gap between what students actually observe and what their preconceived ideas about the object may be. This type of explicit instruction…

Light is radiation in wavelengths composed of many colors that are visible to the eyes. These wavelengths can be separated. One way to separate colors is with a filter. Filters keep certain wavelengths out and allow other wavelengths to pass through. In this article, the authors discuss an activity to provide students the opportunity to build a…

In this article, a group of five preservice teachers and a teacher arranged to try a few activities at their campus day care. Together, they created and tested a series of learning centers involving rocks and minerals. Since minerals occur in such a wonderful variety of colors, they formed the basis for an engaging lesson on color sorting. This…