Activities and Links Describing Sun Shadows and Sundials


This list has been collected to illustrate some of the resources available for teachers who wish to develop activities for their classes showing the properties of sun shadows and sundials.

Sundials - a web site constructed by Dr. Barbara Andereck at Ohio Wesleyan University gives simple instructions for constructing and using a sundial. A teacher's guide, discussion, and extensions are included.

Sun Tracking - from the FOSS Solar Energy Module, Activity 1, for grades 5-6, starts with very simple shadow activities and progresses to observations and measurement of sun shadows.


Shadows, Angles, and the Seasons - an activity developed by the good folks at the Lake Afton Public Observatory to guide elementary students through activities to discover the way shadows change during the year and how that is related to changes in the seasons.

What's Your Slant - a web site with some fun activities on shadows from the Center for Astrophysics Research in Antarctica. The idea of using a file folder came from this site.

Making a Sun Clock - a web site from the folks at the Exploratorium which gives instructions for making a fairly accurate sun clock, complete with corrections for the date.


Sundials on the Internet - a nicely organized web page on sundials. This is a good educational site sponsored by the British Sundial Society.


Sun and Shadow Modelling - This web page advertises a company that will reconstruct the appearance of shadows for the reconstruction of accident circumstances or for other purposes. And you thought that being a science nerd didn't pay!

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