Mystery Beads

Did your child come home today with mystery beads on a pipe cleaner bracelet? I hope your child insisted that you listen while he related the story of how we started with white beads but when we went in the sun, the beads turned colors! I hope s/he actually dragged you outside so you could see for yourself!! These amazing beads have photochromatic dyes that react to UV light and cause the normally white beads to change into vibrant colors when exposed to the sun's ultraviolent rays. Then when removed from the sunlight, the beads revert back to white! We did this experiment in our class to show children that the sun emits powerful rays. These same invisible rays that can change the colors of the beads can also change the color of our skin when we go to the beach! Tomorrow we will be coating the beads with sunscreen to show the children how the lotion/ spray can protect skin from the invisible rays just like it protects the beads from changing colors. Super fun!