• Kids are fascinated by things that keep on glowing after the lights go out. Left to themselves, many kids will experiment on their own with glow in the dark light sticks, watch faces and other luminescent items. You can capitalize on that fascination by challenging your kids' imaginations with experiments to help them understand the chemical reactions that make things glow in the dark.
  
  

Glow in the Dark Observation

• Have students observe what happens to glow sticks when you change their temperature. Light sticks glow because of a chemical reaction between two substances. Temperature affects the rate of that reaction, which determines how bright and how long the glow stick continues to glow. You can buy glow sticks online or at novelty stores. Besides the glow sticks, you'll need ice, warm water and paper and pen for kids to record their observations. Have kids activate the glow sticks, then record their observations at room temperature, and again after they put the glow stick in ice water or warm water for five minutes.
  
  

Making Things Glow Under Black Light

• Black lights emit ultraviolet light--light at low frequencies that are difficult for our eyes to see. Some items will "fluoresce" under black light, absorbing the ultraviolet rays and reflecting them back, so that they glow in the dark. Some fluorescent substances will even change the color of the light they reflect. Black lights are inexpensive and easy to find. Have your kids experiment with different items and substances to see which ones will fluoresce, and how intense the fluorescence is. Have students put together a list of things that they think will glow under black light, and then let them test their hypotheses.
  
  

How Clean Are Your Hands?

• The Centers for Disease Control offers a fun variation of a glow in the dark experiment developed to teach kids about hand washing. All you need is a black light and a fluorescent powder or gel. Have students rub the fluorescent gel on their hands, and spread it all over the backs, fronts and in between the fingers, then examine their hands under a black light. After each student washes his or her hands, have them examine their hands again under the black light to see how many "germs" are still left. Experiment with different lengths of hand washing and different kinds of soap. Use the same tools to show how germs are spread from person to person.