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The man who wondered about light

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Ages 7–9

In Cairo, Ibn al-Haytham spent time under house arrest. He used that time at home to study light through hundreds of experiments.

Some thinkers said that eyes send out rays. Ibn al-Haytham tested this idea and explained that light reflects off objects and enters our eyes.

Ibn al-Haytham used a camera obscura: a dark box with a tiny hole. Light coming through the hole makes a picture on the opposite wall.

He wrote the Book of Optics and checked his theories with experimental evidence.

PAUSE & WONDER

How could you test an idea about light at home?

PAUSE & WONDER

How could you test an idea about light at home?

Try something at the kitchen table
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Meet Ibn al-Haytham & explore the book references