Pony Beads Packet

Watch white beads change to colored when taken outside the building! When returned they turn back to white. What causes the change? Humidity? Temperature? Fresh air? Birds flying overhead? The beads contain pigments which react with ultraviolet light from the sun, even on a cloudy day. They also change with most classroom UV light sources. Students can make their own UV light detecting bracelet by stringing the beads on a pipe stem or on a strip of rawhide. Great for teaching UV awareness! Use the beads to test the UV blocking effectiveness of sunblock, sunglasses, windows, etc. Lesson activities are included. Available in five colors, all beads are pale, off-white in the absence of UV light. The ultraviolet beads will cycle back and forth (to bright colors and back again) over 50,000 times! Approximately 140 beads per package. Looking for individual colors?

Simple Activities

1. Make a UV detecting bracelet. Take a set of UV detecting beads; two each of red, yellow, orange, blue and purple. Place the beads onto a rawhide string (#UV-RAW), to create a pattern so that two beads of the same color are not next to each other. Your students can check their progress by exposing the beads to sunlight.
2. Test the effectiveness of sunblock. By coating two pieces of overhead acetate with different levels of sun block, and placing a purple UV bead under each and then exposing the sheets to UV light, you can observe which bead changes most dramatically and determine if the SPF or brand of lotion actually affects the amount of UV light that passes through to your skin.
3. Measure the UV light emitted from the sun on different colored beads and at different times of the day. You will find that the beads change color much faster at noontime than in the late afternoon. As an added twist, take your beads outside at the same time of the day, but under different weather conditions. Does cloud cover change the amount of UV light you are exposed to?
4. Investigate UV absorption. Place different transparent filters between a UV light source and the beads. Try eyeglasses and UV absorbing window film. You will find that the front windshield of most automobiles absorbs UV radiation. Usually the side windows do not have this built-in protection.
5. A Great Inquiry Lesson - Give each of your students 5 white beads on a pipe cleaner to take home (use different colored beads). Do not tell them what to expect. Have them determine what makes the beads 'special'.