How to Explain Why the Sky Is Blue to a Toddler

Your toddler̵7;s questions might cover almost infinite topics, including vast subjects of time and space such as the color of the daytime sky. In order to encourage curiosity and keep your child wondering about various things, provide age-appropriate answers that facilitate learning. Your little one won̵7;t require a scientific dissertation about why the sky is blue, but you should humor her question by giving a thought-provoking answer.

Things You'll Need

  • Sunglasses (optional)

Instructions

    • 1

      Talk about all of the colors of sunlight with your little one. Explain to him that sunlight is not only blue, but also green, yellow, orange and red, too, states NASA̵7;s Space Place website.

    • 2

      Explain to your toddler that the air around the Earth -- called the ̶0;atmosphere̶1; -- contains an uncountable number of dust particles that are so small, her eyes can̵7;t even see them.

    • 3

      Tell your little one that the tiniest of the dust particles are the same size as blue light wavelengths. Because of the same size of blue light and the dust particles, blue light scatters everywhere, including over all of the dust particles. When your little one̵7;s eyes see the blue light wavelengths scattering everywhere, they see the entire atmosphere as blue.

    • 4

      Provide additional information about cloudy days, when the sky doesn̵7;t look so blue. Because the water in the clouds scatters light wavelengths, the sky looks gray instead of blue, according to University of California Santa Barbara ScienceLine website.

    • 5

      Mention sunrises and sunsets so your little one understands why the sky turns such brilliant colors at sunrise and sunset. Explain that as the sun comes up and goes down, it is lower in the sky. This lower position makes sunlight move through more atmosphere for people to see it. The longer distance allows the eyes to see red and yellow colors, instead of just blue colors.

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