Seeing Color
What happens when we see a beach ball? Find out in this video! It shows how color vision works by following a beam of sunlight as it bounces off a beach ball and enters a human eye. But our eyes are just the beginning—the real star of the story is the brain .
What happened?
Let’s go through the steps involved in seeing that beach ball:
Together, all this information helps us make sense of the object. We see the beach ball’s round shape and all its colors. We can tell which direction it’s moving. We understand how hard to hit it to send it into our friend’s waiting hands. And we know when to put our own hands up to catch it. For us to perceive the beach ball, so many different parts of the brain all have to work together. Think fast!
These regions are shown in the following diagram:
The Museum gratefully acknowledges the Richard and Karen LeFrak Exhibition and Education Fund.
Generous support for The Nature of Color has been provided by the Eileen P. Bernard Exhibition Fund.
The Nature of Color is generously supported by Chase Private Client.
This educational resource for The Nature of Color is made possible by the Anna-Maria and Stephen Kellen Foundation.