First grade students have recently been learning about different types of energy. One type we have explored is solar power. To demonstrate the power of the sun, students explored solar-activated paper. Students cut out or found very small objects to lay on the paper to block the sun. Students made predictions of what they thought would happen to the paper when when we exposed the it to the sun with their objects on top. Then the real fun began!

Our paper started blue, gradually turned white in the sun, and then turned to a darker blue after being rinsed with cold water. When we were finished, the sun had changed the color of the paper, and the spots where the objects had been sitting remained the lighter blue color. Students then wrote about what happened with our solar paper and why they thought it had happened.