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Yesterday morning we made
a spectroscope -- a device that breaks light down into a rainbow of component colors -- from a
cardboard box and an old DVD. Different light sources give you different rainbows; that's one way they can tell what elements are present in a star. The plans came from Simon Quellen Field's scitoys.com, but you can also find them in his book Gonzo Gizmos.
Kathy Ceceri blogs about learning chemistry with her kids at Home Chemistry.
