What colours are in a rainbow?

Rain taps on the window, and then it stops. The sun peeks out from behind a cloud. Have you ever looked up and seen a big bright arch across the sky?

That arch is a rainbow, and it is full of colour. So what colours are in a rainbow? Let's look at it together, one stripe at a time.

The top stripe is red, like a ripe strawberry. Red sits on the outside edge. That is why the red arch is the biggest one.

Just under the red comes orange, like a juicy orange from the fruit bowl. Orange sits snug against the red, with no gap between them.

Below the orange shines yellow, bright as a banana. Yellow is the sunniest stripe of all. Can you guess the next colour? Think of grass and leaves.

Yes, it is green! Green sits right in the middle of the rainbow. Three colours are above it, and three colours are below it.

Under the green comes blue, like a clear summer sky. The blue stripe is a little smaller than the green one, because it sits further inside.

Next comes indigo, which means a deep dark blue. Indigo looks like the blue of your jeans. It sits so close to blue that the two melt together.

Right under indigo comes violet, which means a bluish purple. Violet looks like a tiny purple flower. It is the inside stripe, so the violet arch is the smallest.

Together, the stripes we met make seven colours in all. Each rainbow you spot after the rain has these seven, in this same order.

Indigo. Violet. A rainbow has seven colours, red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet.

Next time the sun shines after the rain, look up and count all seven colours with a happy smile.