How To Make A Homemade Sundial
The passing of hours and time are difficult topics for children to understand, so we bring you a solution: a tutorial on how to make a homemade sundial, a simple device that is very useful to explain this complex topic for children. More smalls.
The task is easy and you only need items that you have at home and the desire to work and have fun. Organize the task and start at the appointed time.
Guide to making a homemade sundial
The sundial is made up of two pieces: the table, where the hours are marked, and the gnomon, which is the element used to cause the shadow. If we learn to read what the sun tells us, we can know what time it is without having to look at the clock. According to the age of the children, choose between these models that we present below.
Sundial on wood
This activity is recommended for children over 10 years of age, since you must use a heavy tool such as a hammer, which must also be handled safely.
Materials:
- 1 wooden board.
- 1 long nail.
- Hammer.
- Pencil.
- Rule.
- Clock.
Step by Step:
- Find a flat, sunny spot.
- Lay the board on the ground and place the nail in the center; this will be the gnomon of the clock.
- At the beginning of the hour, make a mark on the part of the wood where the shadow of the nail is visible.
- Repeat this every hour until it gets dark.
- Join the marks by drawing lines towards the center with a pencil and a ruler.
- You now have your homemade sundial ready!
Paper solar watch
If you have small children, they will love this simple model to make. All the items you need are safe and easy to get.
Materials:
- 1 disposable plate.
- Pencil.
- Glue.
- Clock template.
Step by Step:
- Look online for a round clock downloadable template and print it out.
- Glue the paper with the printed template to the back of the plate.
- Mark the center and stick the pencil there on the flat part.
- Take the plate outside and place it on a flat surface.
- Orient the dish so that the shadow matches the time of day.
- The shadow of the pencil (gnomon) will move through the hours as time passes, so children can know what time it is even if this clock does not have hands.
A sundial in the garden
A very fun way to make a sundial is to mark it on the ground or the lawn of your garden, for which you will need things that, surely, you find at home.
Materials:
- A stick or straight wood of about 40 centimeters.
- Small rocks.
Step by Step:
- Find a flat place in your garden.
- Drive the wooden stick into the ground.
- Wake up the children at 7 am and mark with a stone where the shadow of the stick is on the grass.
- Come back every hour and mark with one of the stones. So, until the end of the day.
- When night comes, you already have your sundial on the lawn of your garden!
Why make a homemade sundial?
With this activity you can explain various topics of geography. Some of the concepts that children will learn are the following:
- The sun rises in the east and sets in the west, and the shadows evolve accordingly. At dawn, the shadow of the gnomon is long and projects to the west; then it will shorten and turn north to indicate noon. From here, the shadow turns to the east and lengthens again. This is produced by the rotation of the Earth throughout the day, which causes the passing of the hours and the change of the shadows.
- There is a fact that you cannot know with modern watches and that only a sundial can give you and that is to know what season of the year you are. This change is caused by the translational movement of the Earth; in winter the days are shorter and the shadows are longer. For example, the day of the summer solstice is the day of the shortest shadows.
Just as we explain how to make a wind meter and a compass, today we have brought you this new project so that you can take advantage of it with your children. The idea is that you know how to make a homemade clock and you can also use it to explain some school subjects easily. Let’s do it!
