👁 Phase 2 — Encounter 🎧 Audio / Visual ⏱ 8 minutes

Task 2 — How the Eye Detects Colour

First contact with the core science — through beauty and strangeness, not through a textbook definition. Three visual concepts, the Dress Illusion, and an AI pair task.

Animated slide content — 3 slides

Slide 1 of 3

🌈 Light and Colour

Light is a form of energy. Visible light contains a range of wavelengths, and humans perceive different wavelengths as different colours.

Red light has a longer wavelength (~700nm).
Blue light has a shorter wavelength (~450nm).
Green light is in between (~550nm).

The full range of visible colours forms the visible spectrum — from red through to violet.

👁 The Retina

When light enters the eye, it reaches the retina at the back of the eye.

The retina contains two special types of cells:
🔘 Rods — help us see light and dark, and work well in dim conditions. They do not detect colour.
🔴🟢🔵 Cones — detect colour. There are 3 types, each sensitive to red, green, or blue light.

🧠 The Brain Constructs Colour

The eye does not create colour all by itself. It detects light and sends signals through the optic nerve.

The brain interprets those signals and creates the colour experience we know.

This is why two people can look at the same image and see different colours — the brain is making an interpretation, not reading a fixed truth. 🎨

The Dress Illusion — Live Vote

👗 What colour is this dress?

Look carefully at the image and vote. There is no wrong answer — the science is in the disagreement!

What colour do YOU see this dress?

🔬 The science reveals: The dress is actually blue and black. The reason people see it differently is because the brain makes assumptions about the surrounding light. If your brain thinks the light is cool/blue, it subtracts that and you see gold/white. If it assumes warm/yellow light, you see blue/black. This is colour perception in action!

AI Pair Task — Wonder & Share

🤖 Wonder Learning AI

With your partner, read the AI response below. Highlight the one sentence that surprised you most, then share it to the class board.

Pre-loaded prompt

"Explain to a 12-year-old how the eye sees colour. Make it surprising and beautiful."

Bridge to Task 3

"Now let us check what you have understood. Two quick questions — no grades, just honest thinking."

← Back to Task 1 Continue to Task 3 →

What happens in Task 2

Students watch 3 animated slides about light, the retina, and the brain. Then they vote on the Dress Illusion (live bar chart). After voting, an AI pair task opens — students read an AI explanation, choose one surprising sentence, and post it to the shared class board. The task ends with a 2-question formative quiz (Task 3).

♿ SEN Adaptations

Audio narration button on all slides (top right of each slide)
Tappable key terms include audio pronunciation
Simplified content mode for junior students
Poll buttons use large text with colour fill icons
Padlet note input accepts voice recording

🖨️ No-Tech Format

Teacher presents 3 key facts verbally with whiteboard drawings
Printed Dress Illusion card distributed to each pair
Show of hands for the vote — teacher records on whiteboard
Students write their "one surprising sentence" on a worksheet

Progress0%

Watch all 3 slides

Vote on the Dress Illusion

Generate AI response

Post to class board

All Tasks

What is Colour?

How the Eye Detects Colour

Formative Quiz

Group A — Scientist

Group B — Engineer

Group C — Health

Discovery Reflection

AI Wellbeing Card

Group Presentations

Wonder Map

Summative Quiz