Fun, Kid-Friendly Examples of Making a Rainbow with Prisms

The Best Examples of Making a Rainbow with Prisms Kids Actually Enjoy

Let’s skip the theory lecture and jump straight into the fun. The best examples of making a rainbow with prisms all have one thing in common: kids can see something change right in front of them. A plain beam of white light suddenly stretches out into bands of red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and violet.

In 2024–2025, a lot of classrooms and families are using simple, low-cost prism experiments as hands-on STEM activities. Teachers are pairing prisms with phone flashlights, smart bulbs, and even digital data sheets. But the heart of it is still the same classic idea Isaac Newton explored centuries ago: white light contains many colors, and a prism helps us see them.

Below are several real examples of examples of making a rainbow with prisms that you can adapt for kindergarten through middle school.

Sunlight on the Wall: The Classic Example of a Prism Rainbow

If you only try one setup, make it this one. It’s one of the simplest examples of making a rainbow with prisms and it feels like magic to younger kids.

You’ll need a sunny window, a glass or acrylic triangular prism, and a light-colored wall or sheet of paper.

Hold the prism in the beam of sunlight so the light passes through one face and exits another. Slowly tilt and rotate the prism. At a certain angle, a bright, stretched-out rainbow will appear on the wall or paper.

This example of a prism rainbow is perfect for introducing the idea that white light is actually a mix of colors. Ask kids:

• What colors can you see in the rainbow?
• Does the rainbow move when we turn the prism?
• What happens if we move closer to or farther from the wall?

For older kids, you can connect this to refraction: light bends when it passes from air into glass and back into air, and different colors bend by different amounts.

Flashlight and Prism: A Controlled Indoor Example

Sunlight is great, but not always reliable. One of the best examples of making a rainbow with prisms indoors uses a strong flashlight in a darkened room.

Tape a piece of cardboard over the flashlight lens and cut a narrow slit in the middle. This creates a more focused beam of light. Shine the beam through the prism onto a white poster board or sheet of paper.

With a bit of adjusting, you’ll see a fainter but still clear rainbow. This is a fantastic example of how you can make a rainbow with prisms at night or on a rainy day.

To turn this into a mini investigation, have kids change:

• The distance between the flashlight and the prism
• The distance between the prism and the wall
• The angle of the prism

Ask them to sketch the rainbow for each setup and label where the colors appear. These kinds of real examples of prism rainbows help kids see that science is about changing one thing at a time and recording what happens.

Window Sill Prism Display: Everyday Rainbows at Home or School

Another gentle, low-effort example of making a rainbow with prisms is to create a “rainbow window.” Place several small prisms along a sunny windowsill in a classroom or bedroom. As the sun moves across the sky, different rainbows will appear on the floor, desks, or walls.

This is one of the best examples for younger kids because they can observe without needing a formal experiment setup. You might:

• Put tape on the floor where a rainbow appears at a certain time of day
• Have kids check and record the time and location of each rainbow
• Compare how the rainbows move over a week

This turns a simple example of a prism rainbow into an ongoing observation project. It also connects nicely to discussions about the Sun’s position in the sky and how that changes with time of day and seasons.

Phone Flashlight and Prism: A Modern Twist

In 2024–2025, one of the most practical examples of examples of making a rainbow with prisms uses a smartphone flashlight. Many families and teachers don’t have a lab-style light source, but almost everyone has access to a phone.

Darken the room, turn on the phone flashlight, and rest the phone on a stack of books so the light shines straight ahead. Hold the prism in the beam and aim the outgoing light onto a blank wall or white poster board.

You may not even need the cardboard slit for this one, depending on how bright the flashlight is. Kids can:

• Take photos of the rainbow and zoom in to see the colors more clearly
• Use a color-picker app or simple drawing app to try matching the colors they see

This is a great example of blending classic science experiments with everyday technology. It also encourages kids to document their observations, a key part of real science practice.

For teachers looking to align with current science standards, the National Science Teaching Association (NSTA) has resources on light and color investigations that pair nicely with prism activities: https://www.nsta.org.

Water-Filled Prism and DIY “Prism Bottle” Rainbows

If you don’t have a glass prism handy, you can still explore examples of making a rainbow with prisms using water and clear containers.

Fill a clear, triangular or rectangular bottle with water and shine a flashlight or sunlight through it at an angle onto a white surface. The water-filled bottle acts like a simple prism, bending and spreading the light.

This example of a DIY prism:

• Helps kids see that it’s the bending of light in a transparent material that matters, not the fancy lab equipment
• Opens the door to comparing different materials: water, glass, plastic

Kids can test different containers and record which ones create the clearest rainbow. This is one of the best examples for encouraging creativity and problem-solving: “If we don’t have a prism, what could we use instead?”

For background reading on light refraction in water and other materials, you can point older students to introductory physics explanations from MIT OpenCourseWare: https://ocw.mit.edu.

Double-Prism Rainbow: Splitting and Recombining Light

Once kids have seen a basic example of a prism rainbow, you can level up with a double-prism setup. This is one of the more advanced examples of examples of making a rainbow with prisms, great for middle school.

First, use a prism to create a rainbow on a white card. Then, place a second prism in the path of just one color (for example, the green band) and adjust the angle.

Kids may notice:

• The single color doesn’t split much further, because it’s already one part of the spectrum
• If you pass the whole rainbow back through a prism in a certain way, you can get something closer to white light again

This connects beautifully to Newton’s classic experiments with prisms. For students who want to dig deeper into the history and science, the University of Cambridge has accessible material on Newton’s prism work and color theory: https://www.cam.ac.uk.

Outdoor Rainbow Hunt: Real-World Examples Include Sprinklers and Mist

Once kids understand that prisms bend light and separate colors, you can show them that prisms are not the only way to make rainbows. Real examples include raindrops, garden sprinklers, and mist from fountains.

Take kids outside on a sunny day and:

• Turn on a fine mist from a hose or sprinkler
• Stand with the Sun behind you
• Look toward the mist and slowly change your angle

They should see a rainbow appear and disappear as they move. This is a powerful example of connecting prism experiments to natural rainbows in the sky. You can explain that each tiny water droplet acts a bit like a prism, bending and reflecting light.

Then, back indoors, you can compare:

• What’s similar between the prism rainbow and the sprinkler rainbow?
• What’s different about the shape, size, and brightness?

These real examples of rainbows help students see that the prism experiments are models for what happens in nature.

Turning Prism Rainbows into Simple Science Investigations

All of these examples of examples of making a rainbow with prisms can be turned into short investigations with just a few tweaks. Instead of simply “making a rainbow,” ask a testable question.

Some starter questions:

• Which light source makes the brightest rainbow: sunlight, a flashlight, or a phone flashlight?
• Does the distance from the prism to the wall change how wide the rainbow is?
• Does a glass prism make a clearer rainbow than a plastic prism or a water-filled bottle?

Have kids predict what they think will happen, try it, and then record what they actually see. Even a simple table with columns for setup, prediction, and result can turn an example of a prism rainbow into an authentic experiment.

For educators, the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) emphasize these kinds of inquiry skills. You can find NGSS-aligned ideas for light investigations at https://www.nextgenscience.org.

Safety Tips for Prism Rainbow Experiments

Most examples of making a rainbow with prisms are very safe, but a few reminders help keep things running smoothly:

• Never let kids look directly at the Sun, even when using a prism
• Avoid shining very bright flashlights directly into eyes
• Use sturdy prisms or plastic versions with younger children to reduce breakage

Simple safety rules keep the focus on the fun and the learning.

FAQ: Common Questions About Prism Rainbow Experiments

Q: What are some easy examples of making a rainbow with prisms for young kids?
Simple examples include holding a prism in a sunny window to project a rainbow on the wall, using a flashlight and prism in a dark room, or placing several prisms on a windowsill to create moving rainbows during the day. These setups are quick to try and don’t require special lab equipment.

Q: Can you give an example of using a prism experiment in a science lesson?
A teacher might ask students, “Which light source creates the brightest rainbow?” Students test sunlight, a regular flashlight, and a phone flashlight with the same prism, then compare their observations. This example of a prism rainbow lesson introduces variables, data collection, and simple conclusions.

Q: Are water bottles good examples of prism substitutes?
Yes. Clear, water-filled bottles or containers can act like simple prisms. They may not create rainbows as sharp as glass prisms, but they are excellent real examples for showing that light bends when it passes through transparent materials.

Q: Why do some examples of prism rainbows look brighter than others?
Brightness depends on the strength of the light source, the transparency and quality of the prism material, and how dark the room is. Sunlight usually gives the brightest example of a rainbow, while weak indoor lights can produce dimmer, harder-to-see bands.

Q: Is it okay to use phone flashlights for prism experiments?
Yes. Phone flashlights are one of the most practical modern examples of light sources for prism experiments. Just remind kids not to shine the light directly into anyone’s eyes.

When you collect these different examples of examples of making a rainbow with prisms, you give kids a whole menu of ways to explore light and color. Some days it’s a quick rainbow on the wall. Other days it’s a full investigation with predictions, data, and discussion. Either way, the moment that rainbow appears never really gets old.