An Exploration of Light and Color

"The wider the range of possibilities we offer children, the more intense will be their motivations and the richer their experiences."

-Loris Malaguzzi

Take a moment and consider the intensity and beauty you experience when sunlight hits an object just the right way. Consider the way illuminating an object in a different way can make it seem frightening, ominous. Or how the mere presence of light can generate feelings of reassurance, happiness, hope. It is almost an explosion of the senses. Light has incredible power. The refraction of light is a wonder in and of itself with the ability to alter our perception of everything around us.

Now consider that through the eyes of a child. 

Our children are in a constant state of natural growth as they attempt to observe and understand the world around them. Light is such an interesting factor in this quest for understanding because it is constantly changing what we think we already know. Here at SVK we believe in questioning and expanding upon what we think we know. Even when we believe we have the answer to a question, the possibilities of discovery are not over. The exploration of color and light that occurred over the past few weeks in my classroom is a perfect example of how expanding on our curiosities can always lead to new discoveries.

Our journey began with a simple provocation, intended to inspire the creation of secondary colors:

Using food coloring and eye droppers we were able to strategically create new colors and then modify them based on our own personal preferences.

After completing color palettes, a few children decided to place them on the light table and see what they looked like. In our classroom we encourage these independent discoveries, and were thrilled to see that the light did not only change what we were seeing, but seemed to create entirely new colors! We began to wonder how this was possible! The children had worked so hard to meticulously create the colors they liked best, and in just a moment the presence of light had completely altered them!  How could light hold so much power over our creations?  Was it something in the light table making it possible?  Could any light hold such power?  

We tested our theories outside with natural light:

We discovered that outside we were able to create reflections of colors and shadows.  We wondered if these reflections differed from those we might see in a mirror inside:

While the class currently seems satisfied with the findings culminated in this project, we are still unsure if we are entirely finished with it.  As a result, the eye droppers and palettes have been added to our science center to await further discovery in the near future.