Astronomy Tools (Sundial)

Warning! Not for children under 3 years. Adult supervision required. Follow approved procedures.

Materials

  • Paper Plate
  • Pencil
  • Sundial Clock Face Cutout

Procedure

  1. First, cut out the clock face and glue it onto the back of the plate.
  2. With adult help, use something sharp to make a hole in the center of the plate.
  3. Stick the pencil through the hole and then head outside with your sundial.
  4.  Be sure to position the sundial with the “12” pointing North to determine the current time.

The Science You Should Know  

The Sundial allows us to track the position of the sun more accurately. For over thousands of years people have used sundials to tell the time of day based on the apparent position of the sun in the sky. As the sun’s position changes in our sky, the shadow it cast will align with lines marking each hour indicating the time of day.