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Rainbows and Light Refraction - Kid Science

  • Writer: Amy Wung Tsao
    Amy Wung Tsao
  • Aug 11
  • 4 min read

Quick links if you’re too busy to scroll:


Light and Rainbow Science Videos:


Light and Rainbow Science Books:

Light and Rainbow Science Experiment:



Keep reading to find out how these books, videos, and activities can get your kids playing with rainbow science themselves! 



“The way I see it, if you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain!” ~ Dolly Parton



My kids have very strong opinions on rainbows. Rainbows, they insist, have 6, not 7 colors. Because indigo shouldn’t count.  



As for the science of rainbows, here's what you can teach your kids today - rainbows are hiding in every light beam. 


The way you reveal those hidden rainbows is to bend light through glass or water. 


See normally, light moves in straight lines. But when light hits that boundary between the air and a raindrop, it bends a little bit. That bending is called refraction. In fact each color bends a little bit differently, so that the colors start to separate into a rainbow.


Then that rainbow bounces off (reflection) the back of the raindrop, and goes back to your eye, making you see it!


Diagram showing light entering a spherical drop of water on the top left, where it turns into a beam of rainbow colors that reflects off the right side of the water drop and exits out the bottom left as separate beams of colored light.
Credit: NOAA

If that was a bit complicated, don’t worry! I’ve found videos, books, and activities that explain it to your kids a lot better than I can. 


(Just a reminder - I am never paid to mention any of these resources; there are no affiliate links.)



Rainbow Science and Light Refraction Videos


How is a rainbow made?  from Mystery Science You can’t touch the colors in a rainbow, the way you can touch the color in a chair or table. So what are a rainbow’s colors made of anyway, if you can’t touch them? Light itself! In this video, discover Isaac Newton’s simple light experiments where he made rainbows from white light, then recombined the rainbow into white light again! 


The Magic School Bus Makes a Rainbow  from PBS’s Magic School Bus Ms. Frizzle has created a “pinball” machine that uses light instead of balls. Of course she shrinks her class small so they can figure out how to bounce the rainbow lights into targets and win the game. Plus the magic school bus itself turns into a rainbow!This is the full episode of the original Magic School Bus cartoon from when I was a kid. It totally holds up decades later!



Rainbow Science and Light Refraction Books



Cover illustration of two kids playing. One is spraying water out of a hose, and a rainbow arcs above them both.

What is a Rainbow? (TechTots Science Made Simple Series)  by Harriet Blackford, illustrated by Mike Henson The Techtots are playing with water in the backyard. Through a little trial and error, they learn that rainbows are made of light! With these simple illustrations, even preschoolers can learn about the science of rainbows. 



Cover illustration of triangular prism, with white light entering one side and a rainbow exiting the other side.

Let's Make a Rainbow by Chris Ferrie This book covers lots of light science - how light can be stopped (absorption), bounced (reflection), and bend (refraction).  You’ll learn that red apples are red because they reflect red light. And you’ll learn that rainbows appear when light refracts going into a raindrop, reflects off the back of the raindrop, then refracts again when it leaves the raindrop. I learned about refraction in college physics, but this book somehow breaks it all down so simply! It’s perfect for an elementary age kid.


Cover illustration of half a rainbow with wide stripes. The rainbow ends at the title “Over the Rainbow” which is printed in rainbow colors.

Over the Rainbow: The Science, Magic, and Meaning of Rainbows written by Rachael Davis, illustrated by Wenjia Tang This book is for the really serious rainbow enthusiasts who want to go deep! It goes into more detail the physics of light, like how different wavelengths of light appear as different colors. It also covers the history of science experiments people used to understand light and rainbows better. 


My favorite part of the book is the “Rare Rainbow” section, all about double rainbows, twinned rainbows, red rainbows, super rainbows, and moonbows.


Then go beyond science to learn about rainbow myths, legends around the world! Plus how the rainbow has been a symbol for peace movements and Pride month. 


Rainbow Science and Light Refraction Activities


Make a Rainbow Indoors  from SciShow Kids Make your own rainbow! You just need a sunny window, a white piece of paper, and a clear glass of water. Your kids can follow along, but also experiment with moving the glass and the paper around. Stick around to the end of the video for tips to find a natural rainbow in the sky. 


(Teachers, this experiment supports NGSS 1-PS4-3!)


from Hands On As We Grow

This time go outside with a sprinkler! You can also use a hose spraying a fine mist. Make sure the sun is behind you, and then experiment with different angles to try to make the biggest rainbow you can!

(Teachers, this experiment supports NGSS 1-PS4-3!)



Do the Flipping Arrow Experiment from Phil McCordic Light refraction doesn't just make rainbows. It also makes arrows flip from left to right, almost like magic! Try to do this simple light refraction science experiment along with Phil. You just need paper, a marker, and a clear glass of water.


(Teachers, this experiment supports NGSS 1-PS4-3 too!)



I hope you found some bright and colorful science fun!


And if you enjoyed this post, sign up here with your email so you never miss an update! 


Until next time, keep lighting sparks of curiosity!

Amy Wung Tsao


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