Physics

Light & Optics Lab in Virtual Reality

Students aim laser beams, build a periscope and look through it, measure angles of reflection and refraction and find a lens's focal point, in a safe dark room with no real laser.

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16 experimentsAges 8–183 topics

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How the lab works

See the light itself, not just where it lands

In class you usually see only the spot where light lands. In the lab the beam is visible along its whole path, even inside glass, and students turn mirrors, lenses and prisms by hand and measure angles with a protractor that snaps to the point of incidence.

Topic 1

Light and shadow

For primary school: how shadows form, what sets their size and how one object can cast very different shadows. In middle and high school the topic continues with eclipses and sundials in the Earth, Moon & Sun Lab.

Primary school

Ages 8–12
Ages 8–10

Does the shadow grow or shrink?

Inquiry question
What happens to a shadow's size when the flashlight moves closer to the object?
What students do
Students hold a flashlight in a dark room, move it closer and farther, and measure the shadow on a wall ruler.
Why VR
Total darkness, a sharp shadow and instant measurement.
Ages 8–12

Which shape casts this shadow?

Inquiry question
How can the same object cast completely different shadows?
What students do
Students get a target silhouette and turn a 3D object in their hand in front of the light until its shadow matches.
Why VR
Free rotation in every direction that builds spatial thinking.
Ages 10–12

Two lights, two shadows

Inquiry question
Why can an object have two shadows, and what happens where they overlap?
What students do
Students place two lamps, move them and mark regions of full shadow, partial shadow and light.
Why VR
Full control of the light sources, and spatial groundwork for understanding eclipses.
Topic 2

Reflection and mirrors

Primary students steer a beam by trial and error, middle schoolers measure angles and state the law of reflection, and high schoolers work with curved mirrors and 3D geometry.

Primary school

Ages 8–12
Ages 8–11

Aim the laser beam

Inquiry question
How do you turn mirrors so the light reaches a hidden target?
What students do
Students set mirrors on stands and rotate them until the beam hits the target, even around obstacles.
Why VR
A beam visible along its whole length, a room-size maze and complete safety.
Ages 10–12

My first periscope

Inquiry question
How can you see over a wall without peeking over it?
What students do
Students fit two mirrors in a tube, angle them and look through it over a tall wall.
Why VR
Students look through the device they built, and their point of view really changes.

Middle school

Ages 12–15
Ages 12–14

The law of reflection

Inquiry question
How does the angle at which light strikes a mirror relate to the angle at which it reflects?
What students do
Students rotate a light source around a mirror with a protractor attached and log pairs of angles.
Why VR
A protractor that snaps to the point of incidence and the normal, for a precise reading.
Ages 12–14

Building a periscope to spec

Inquiry question
At what angle must the mirrors sit, and what happens if it changes?
What students do
Students design a periscope, set the mirrors with a protractor and look through it from inside a submarine.
Why VR
A real change of viewpoint, in a setting no classroom can reach.
Ages 13–15

How many images in two mirrors?

Inquiry question
How does the angle between two mirrors set the number of images?
What students do
Students open and close a hinged pair of mirrors, count the images and look for the rule.
Why VR
Students walk around and see that the images sit "behind" the mirror.

High school

Ages 15–18
Ages 15–17

Concave mirror: where is the focus?

Inquiry question
How does a mirror's curvature decide where light concentrates?
What students do
Students aim a concave mirror at the sun, move a screen to the brightest point and swap mirrors.
Why VR
A visible 3D bundle of rays, and safe work with a "sun".
Ages 16–18

The corner reflector

Inquiry question
Why do three mirrors at right angles send light straight back to its source, from any direction?
What students do
Students shine a laser into a corner of three mirrors from any direction and check the returning beam.
Why VR
3D geometry that is very hard to grasp in a drawing on paper.
Topic 3

Refraction and lenses

Middle schoolers observe refraction, focus and dispersion, and high schoolers calculate with Snell's law and the lens equation.

Middle school

Ages 13–15
Ages 13–15

Refraction between materials

Inquiry question
What happens to light's direction as it passes from air into glass or water, and when does it not bend?
What students do
Students rotate a laser against blocks of glass, water and diamond and look for an angle with no bending.
Why VR
A beam visible inside the material, and materials no classroom has, such as diamond.
Ages 13–15

Converging lens: the sun's focus

Inquiry question
How does a lens's thickness change the distance at which light concentrates?
What students do
Students hold a lens up to the sun, move a screen to the smallest spot and swap lenses.
Why VR
The bundle of rays is visible in 3D while students hold the lens.
Ages 13–15

Prism and rainbow

Inquiry question
How does white light become a rainbow, and which color bends the most?
What students do
Students turn a prism in a beam of white light, move a screen and recombine the colors with a second prism.
Why VR
Total darkness and a clear view of each color as a separate ray.

High school

Ages 15–18
Ages 15–17

Snell's law: what is the refractive index?

Inquiry question
How do you find the refractive index of an unknown material?
What students do
Students measure pairs of incidence and refraction angles, plot a graph and calculate the index of a "mystery material".
Why VR
An attached protractor and instant material swaps.
Ages 16–18

Total internal reflection and optical fiber

Inquiry question
When does light stay trapped in glass, and how is that used to carry data?
What students do
Students find the critical angle in a glass block, then build a "fiber" from segments and check whether the light reaches the end.
Why VR
Building a 3D path and seeing exactly where the light escapes.
Ages 16–18

Converging lens and image formation

Inquiry question
How does the object's distance from the lens decide where a sharp image forms and how big it is?
What students do
Students move a candle and a screen on an optical bench until the image is sharp, log distances and overlay a ray diagram on the setup.
Why VR
The ray diagram sits on the apparatus itself, in real time.
FAQ

Light & Optics Lab

Is there a real laser in the lab?

No. The beam is virtual and completely safe, and it is visible along its whole path, even inside glass.

Which ages is the lab for?

Ages 8 to 18. Primary students explore shadows and steer light beams, middle schoolers measure reflection and refraction, and high schoolers calculate with Snell's law and the lens equation.

What does a headset add to light experiments?

Total darkness at any moment, rays visible in space and precise angle measurement, without costly optical equipment or a darkroom.

The catalog is updated regularly, and content is added gradually. The labs support Hebrew, Arabic, English and more. To find out which labs are available for your school now: service@prolabsxr.com

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