The electromagnetic spectrum is usually classified by its wavelength and the energy levels associated with it. Teaching these relations to kids without an exploration activity could be a real challenge. On this subject, we have designed a lesson using lasers, diffractions gratings, and photoluminescent materials. This lesson includes activities that allow introducing different optics and photonics concepts. The warm-up activities are to learn the monochromatic nature of lasers, show how diffractions gratings work and explain the concepts of phosphorescence and fluorescence. All this knowledge is combined to see the different energy levels associated with three colors of lasers: red, green and violet. Using different lasers the kids explore which ones activate the fluorescence or phosphoresce effects in the materials provided and, finally, they examine these effects using diffraction gratings. The diffraction gratings allow exploring how a laser can cause fluorescence and how the light emitted by this phenomenon is related to the color of the laser and other colors with less energetic wavelengths. Also, the different lasers are used to analyze which one can cause phosphoresce over materials and comparing the violet lasers with the UV light. In the end, the conclusion is based on the law of conservation of energy.
The group Physics for everyone, a group created by former members of the SPIE student chapter of the Universidad Autonoma de Nuevo Leon, have been conducting activities for kids, teenagers and the general public through the program “Optics for everyone” since its creation in 2013. The objectives of this group and this program are to teach the importance of light, optics, and photonics to understand the world where we lived and the advances in technology. Also, the group prepares undergraduate students to learn and teach optics and photonics before taking the corresponding curricular courses, conducting to a new approach of how to understand the light interactively. This work presents a summary of the activities performed during five years, the outcomes obtained, the number of people reached, the experience of the volunteers and the conclusions and future work of the program and the group. Among the outstanding contributions of the programs is included the performance of optics and photonics workshops in public schools and public places, including unprivileged and remote communities in the state of Nuevo Leon, Mexico.
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