Mirrors can be grand fun and great props for teaching loads of science concepts! Be sure to get the most mileage out of these activities by having children try to predict what will happen, express their observations, find a way to measure some aspect of the goings-on, and make theories and test them. Talk, talk, talk before, during, and after each activity or experiment.
You'll want to be sure that the children have some basic vocabulary, too. Use this opportunity to teach words like “reflection,” “image,” “opposite,” “smooth,” “cool,” and “fragile.” What other words can you think of that relate to mirrors? Children will learn new words best if they have a chance to hear them and use them several times after they are introduced. Use the new words as you describe what's happening in each activity and talk about the children's observations.
For these activities, you'll need a variety of hand-held, unbreakable mirrors. Various sizes and shapes will open doors for several types of experiments. A full-length wall mirror can be a lot of fun, too. You'll also want a flashlight with a strong beam, and various other reflective surfaces, such as the glass in a window and the reflective finish on an appliance.
Mirror, Mirror, What Do You See?
Children, especially young children, will need time to explore mirrors. Use hand-held mirrors and talk about how things in the mirror look the same (colors, shapes, and so forth) and different (sizes, and they are backwards) than things in the real world. Try making different faces and movements for the mirror. Who can make the most interesting mirror dance?
Mirror Hide and Seek
Play this game just like the garden variety hide and seek, except the person who is "it" uses a mirror to peek around corners and under things. Show the children how to position a mirror to see in those hard-to-see places and talk about how the mirror reflects what is in front of it. We, however, can look at a mirror from an angle, and so see what's going on around a corner!
Take a Mirror Walk
Take a walk around the building and look for reflective surfaces. You may find them on window panes, on chrome finishes, on highly-polished plastic or on varnished surfaces. What do all of the surfaces that reflect have in common? They are all very, very smooth. Does it matter what color the surface is? What kinds of things make the best reflections? What do the kids notice about reflections in curved surfaces such as faucets or spoons? Here are some more words that you can teach during this activity: glossy, finish, lacquer, chrome, shiny, metallic, and curved. And here's a real challenge: hold a mirror face up in front of you and try to walk across the room while watching the reflection of the ceiling. It's tougher than it sounds, and very intriguing.
Breathe on Me
What happens when you breathe on a mirror? Chances are very good that your children haven't tried this yet, though. Have them try different types of breaths near their mirrors: light, quick breaths, huffy breaths, hard blows. Does the same thing happen each time? Have them describe what they are seeing and make a theory about why it is happening. How could they change the outcome? Try cooling a mirror off in a refrigerator or in the moving air from the air conditioner. How does its coolness affect the outcome of the experiment? What's really happening is that the warm air from a person's body contains a lot of moisture. The water condenses on the mirror's surface and forms the fog. The greater the temperature difference, the more fog will form.
Catch Some Rays
Darken the room and use a high-powered flashlight for some competitive fun. Show the children how to catch the flashlight beam and direct it to various spots around the room by turning the mirror. Can the mirror-wielder bounce the light to specific places? Some experimentation with angles will be needed. And here's a real test: try bouncing the beam of light from one mirror to another! It's much easier said than done, but the children will have a grand time trying. Here's a hint, too. Shine the light on a small mirror, and catch it on a bigger mirror.
Mirror Writing
There are two different ways to experiment with mirror writing. Try writing completely backwards and see if your child can read the writing in the mirror. Reversed writing is easier to read than it is to write! Is your child up to the challenge? It makes a great code, too. And here's another set of fun experiments. Some of our letters are symmetrical, that is, they can be folded exactly in half and the halves are identical. The letter “o” is an example, and so is the capital “A.” Other letters can be folded top to bottom, like the capital “B.” Challenge your child to discover which letters can be folded in half (which have lines of symmetry) by writing a letter on a card, folding it, then putting the folded edge against the mirror. If the entire letter appears correctly, the child has found a line of symmetry. Remember to try both capital and lower case letters, because they are different. How many can your child find?
