Rainbow Prism

Have you ever shone light into a prism and seen a vibrant rainbow emerge? If so, you probably wondered: How does the prism do that? This Lego creation will show you! When light travels from air into the prism, it bends ("refracts"). White light contains all the visible colors of light, and each color bends at a different angle. So when white light shines on a prism, the colors separate from each other and you see a rainbow!

This 250-piece build replicates what you would see in a real prism as accurately as possible. It depicts a beam of white light shining into a prism and being dispersed into different colors, which are refracted again as they leave the prism. I wanted it to function equally well as an educational toy and a display piece, so the front side is a fully-built, realistic prism while the back has a section of wall removed to let you peek inside. I thought sunshine would complement the rainbow nicely, so the prism is topped with a sun that you can spin like a pinwheel.