Description

Your child sets up a simple sundial outside, marks where its shadow falls at different times through the day, and works out how the shadow tells the time.

What to prep

• stick_or_pencil
• marker
• clock
• sunny_spot

Play guide

1. 1Push a straight stick upright into the ground, or stand a pencil in a lump of clay on a paper plate, in a sunny spot that stays sunny.
2. 2At a known time, have your child mark where the shadow points and write the time next to the mark.
3. 3Come back every hour or two through the day and add a new mark and time each visit.
4. 4At the end of the day, look at the fan of marks together and talk about how the shadow moved and why.
5. 5The next sunny day, check whether the marks still line up with the clock, and talk about what changed.