Children learn about light at WonderLab

Bloomington children had the opportunity to participate in several light-related activities Saturday, including guiding a laser through a mirror maze, shining a flashlight through water and observing the subsequent distortion and examining the effects of shining a light through a prism. \nThe WonderLab Museum of Health, Science and Technology’s current traveling display, “Through the Looking Glass: the Science of Light and Reflection,” demonstrated the various effects a light source has on a given medium. \nThe children received guidance in these activities from Wonderlab volunteers and employees. \nCelina Jaffe, a sophomore volunteer at WonderLab, wowed an audience of eager onlookers as she explained the different ways a concentrated light could be distorted when filtered by a given medium.\nGiving real-life examples is an appropriate way to make the topic understandable and approachable, Jaffe said. She said the distortion seen in the experiment was the same used by lighthouses. \nAt another station, sophomore Steve Salinas delved into the facets of light involving concavity, ultimately giving children a look at light and its many elements. \nThese different light activities generated excitement as children tested their luck at the laser maze and examined the extraordinary light effects through water and prisms. \nNine-year-old Nick Johnson visited with his grandmother and was particularly interested in the laser mirror maze, which he described as “really cool.”\nChildren and parents alike participated in the different events. \nBledi Doraci, who visited the museum with his daughter, praised the ability of the WonderLab to create an enriching experience for children by taking a more hands-on approach to scientific concepts that might be to difficult to understand from simply reading a book.\nWonderLab volunteers Harjot Singh and Brian Hatfield described the light activities as great catalysts in fostering a child’s natural creativity and imagination.\nAn immense amount of time and effort goes into the planning of these traveling displays, and many of the events correlate directly with pop culture, said Staci Radford-Vincent, program manager at WonderLab. \nThe more recent events have been focused at an older age group, Radford-Vincent said. In general, WonderLab usually draws pre-kindergarten and early elementary students.\n“Actually putting the programs into action, being out and seeing the enjoyment experienced” is the most rewarding aspect of her job, Radford-Vincent said.