In the bottom picture the light is 'bouncing' off twice, which gives a second rainbow above the first, but it is much paler and the colours run the other way round.

At one time or another we have all seen a rainbow. Rainbows happen when the sun is shining while it is raining or just after a storm. It appears in the part of the sky directly opposite to the sun. So you must stand with your back to the sun to see it. The lower the sun is to the horizon, the higher the arch of the rainbow will be.

The light that we see coming from the sun or an electric light bulb appears to be clear and white. But it is really made up of bands or waves of colours. If we "bend" light through a round or angled surface we can break up the white beam into its colours. You can see this happen in soap bubbles, a diamond or other clear stones cut into triangular shapes or in a cut glass ornament or crystal.

The rainbow is made when the light from the sun enters the drops of falling water and is reflected back to us from the other side of the water drop.

There are seven colours which combine to make white light. These seven colours are called the Spectrum. We have already met six of these colours when we talked about the three prime colours and the colours that came between them when we mixed them. Do you remember - red - orange - yellow -green - blue - purple. In the Spectrum, purple is called "violet" and the seventh colour is a dark blue which comes between the light blue and the violet. It is called indigo. So the rainbow, or Spectrum, is made up of red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet.

One of the oldest stories in the Bible is that of Noah and the Flood. we think of Noah as a Manifestation of God and you will be able to read His story when you are a little older. After the Flood, God put a rainbow in the sky and said, "I do set My bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth." Genesis IX.

A token means a sign and a covenant is a agreement. So whenever we see a rainbow this is a sign of God's promise never to destroy the earth and to always teach us His ways through His Manifestations. In Muslim tradition, we are told that God made all people out of seven different coloured earths. This teaches us that the earth belongs to all people, no matter what their colour, and not to any one special race. Just as the seven colours of the Spectrum join to make one light, so the different coloured races must join to make One Human family.

In 1998 the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the UK developed the ‘Rainbow’ concept to help us multiply our powers in the four year plan. Every one of us can find our place in the pattern of the rainbow. No matter what colour we are, our shining is acceptable to God and is of great value. The ‘Rainbow’ concept is a vision of four parts, in which we see:

1. the rainbow as an ancient emblem and reminder of God’s covenant,

2. the rainbow as an image of the Arc which is our Ark,

3. the rainbow as a symbol of unity in diversity of action, and

4. the rainbow as the flag behind which we multiply the power of our diverse forces in collective action.

1. In a special Harvest Festival celebration at Winchester Cathedral on 4th October, 1987 an important new symbol called The Rainbow Thread was introduced. Details of this are taken from the World Wide Fund booklet called "Assembly Project".

To make Rainbow Threads take threads of seven different colours (the Spectrum) and weave, plait or twist them into a single band. Cut the finished band to the right size to be tied around your wrist.

Now cut out a small disc, as shown, from thin card, so that when the thread is passed through it (as shown) it can be worn like a "watch face." On your disc either draw a picture showing the oneness of the world or write a slogan like, "One World", "The Earth One Country" "Mankind is One" or something similar When you wear your disc you can tell anyone, who asks about it, all about the rainbow and how all colours join to make one light and one family of people, and that it is also a sign of God's promise to us to always help us and look after us.

2. Ask your teacher if there are any "prisms" at school. A prism is a piece of glass shaped like a pyramid and it is used to "bend" light so that the white beam can be split into its many colours (we normally distinguish seven, in this picture only 6 are shown, which is missing?). Perhaps your teacher will demonstrate its use for the class and you can explain your interest in the rainbow.

3. Paint a picture of a rainbow over a town or the countryside and in the middle print the words:

"I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be a token of a covenant between me and the earth."

Arthur Weinberg 1988, updated by Alan Woodhurst 1999.