Seeing the World

Most of the fourth graders had heard that we really see the world upside down. But why? After watching a series of videos, looking closely at their own eyes, and examining anatomical diagrams, the fourth graders put their hypotheses into practice by constructing their own working models of the human eye.

The students used readily available materials to make the iris (colored paper), pupil (cut-out circle), lens (magnifying glass), and retina (note card) for their models.

Then, the students experimented with light to determine how these structures interact and function by creating images for processing by the brain. In the end, they discovered that an image refracted through the lens of the eye will reveal a “flipped” image on the retina! The images on the retinas were surprisingly clear. Below are a few of the images the students captured. 

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