Professor Kettlewick
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Try this with a grown-up

Make a rainbow in your garden

Ollie makes his own rainbow with the garden hose in Colours of the Sky. You can too, on a sunny day.

Ask a grown-up before you turn the hose on.

Ollie making a rainbow with the garden hose

You will need

  • A sunny day
  • A garden hose with a spray nozzle, or a spray bottle
  • Somewhere you can get a bit wet

What to do

  1. Stand with your back to the sun.
  2. Spray a fine mist of water in front of you.
  3. Look into the mist for the rainbow. Move the spray up and down until you find it.
  4. Point it at the garden, not at the professor!

Why does it work?

Sunlight is every colour mixed together. With the sun behind you, every tiny drop of spray acts like a little prism: it bends the light and splits it into its colours, and out pops a rainbow. It is easiest to see when the sun is low, in the morning or late afternoon.

It’s in Episode 1, Colours of the Sky.

Watch the episode