Grade 6 students in Amanda Hudson’s earth science class took to the outdoors to better understand the Earth’s atmosphere and solar heating. Students investigated the hidden spectrum in visible light and learned how it produces the colors we see around us every day. They then scattered among the warm concrete of the Maseeh Middle School Courtyard to experience solar energy themselves. They used their bodies to see how the white of their St. Margaret’s uniform reflects all visible light and how the uniform’s blue absorbs almost all of it. The sixth graders were able to experience the change in temperature by feeling the difference in their clothing. The experiment concluded with students investigating whether the air in a sealed plastic bag would heat more than the surrounding air. The results of these experiments were linked to how the Earth is heated by the greenhouse effect.

Back in the classroom, students are taking the knowledge they learned from this research to better comprehend the greenhouse effect and the larger issue of climate change.

Katharine James, who participated in the experiment said, "I thought it was a very unique way to learn about the visible light spectrum. I learned things I never knew before, and I never would've known or remembered them without Mrs. Hudson's teaching method. I learned that white is reflecting all the colors of the spectrum and black is absorbing all of them. That's why when you wear black and have direct sunlight, you feel hotter, and when you wear white in the same setting, you feel cooler."