Some people tell stories. A pot of gold at the end of the rainbow is a popular story in Europe and North America. Other interpretations suggest that the rainbow is a sign of hope. Scientists tell a different story. Scientists say that sunlight looks white but is not really white because it contains every possible colour.
Prisms can break up white sunlight.
A drop of water can be a prism. Here's how it works. When light shines through a drop of water or prism, it bends or is refracted inside the droplet. This is what allows us to see the rainbow's colours. To see a rainbow, rain must be falling and the sun must be shining at the same time.