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Explore the Eye’s Blind Spot with Your Kids

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We’re a bit obsessed with learning about the eye in this household. Here are a few activities and thoughts to ignite your desire to learn, or to continue learning about the eye! Have fun learning about the “blind spot“!

We’ve all heard the phrase “blind spot”...

…but do you know the definition of a “blind spot”?

Yeah, I didn’t either until I did a bit of research on the eye.

The blind spot is a little spot of the eye. Everyone has a blind spot. The blind spot is the point in the eye where all the nerve in the eye come together. The nerves form a bundle of nerves call the optic nerve, a nerve that runs from the eye to the brain.

So, why makes the blind spot “blind’? The answer is that there are no cones or rods on that exact spot.

blind spot

Exploring the Blind Spot

Here is a fun experiment to test out your eye’s blind spot.

  • Use these template cards I created (cut the cards out and hand them out to the children)
  • Do you think you can make the flower disappear?
  • Hold the card at arm’s length in front of your face
  • Cover the right eye
  • Look at the “x” with the left eye
  • Move the card slowly toward your face and then away again
  • When the flower disappears, stop.
  • The flower image is directly on your blind spot.

Learning about the Eye Resources

Related Read: Learn Parts of the Heart with Kids

Cool Facts about Eyes

  • Cats eyes appear to glow because they have a mirror layer in the back of their eyes that reflects light back into the eye
  • Owls eyes can’t move, which is why they turn their heads to look around
  • Birds need to see in order to be able to find their food.
  • The average person blinks 12 times a minute
  • Sharks have eyelids but they don’t blink
  • Eagles can spot rabbits miles away
  • Hawks check out the earth from 15,000 feet up looking for rodents (they dive over 100 mph to catch prey once they do see it!)
  • Owls have the best night visions
  • Sharks have the best underwater vision
  • Rhinos and Moles have horrible eyesight. Rhinos can’t see well beyond 15 feet in from of them. Scientists believe the moles use their eyes so infrequently that moles have grown skin over their eyes.

 

Happy learning!

Marnie

About Marnie Craycroft

Marnie hails from Maine where she spent summers buried in sand and winters buried in snow. She is the daughter of a nearly four decade veteran of the public school systems. Teaching has always been a part of her life. She founded Carrots Are Orange in 2010.

Carrots Are Orange is a Montessori learning and living website for parents and teachers.

Marnie graduated from Wesleyan University in 1999 with a BA in Economics. She spent nearly a decade working in investment management. In 2006, she earned her MA in business from the University of Washington’s Foster School of Business.

Marnie moved to the west coast in 1999 and currently lives in Boulder with her husband and three sons. She is Montessori trained. Her work has been featured on Apartment Therapy, Buzzfeed, PBS Kids, BabyCenter, the Melissa & Doug blog, Huffington Post, and WhattoExpect.com. Besides writing, passions include running (usually after her three sons), photography, and outdoor adventures.

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