Let's
Make A Sundial
Go
outside on a sunny day and look at your shadow. Early in the morning
and late in the afternoon your shadow will be very long. Around
lunch time, your shadow will be a lot shorter. It also moves during
the day, pointing to the west in the morning and east in the evening.
 If
you stood still in one place all day long, you could tell what time
it was by your shadow. That sure would be boring! But you could
put a stick in the ground and make marks in the dirt where the stick's
shadow was every hour. Then you could tell what time it was by looking
at the shadow. Shadow sticks were the earliest tools used by humans
to tell time. The technical name for a shadow stick is a gnomon.
The
ancient Egyptians built tall stone towers called obelisks. Everybody
could tell the time by looking at the obelisk's shadow. Later the
Greeks and Romans invented sundials. Sundials use the Sun to tell
time too, but they are smaller and work better. Some Sundials were
small enough to carry with you, almost like a watch.
Step
1
Look
up your latitude. The U.S.
Census Bureau will tell you your latitude if you type in your
City and State. The results will look like this, but the numbers
will be different:
Population
(1990): 177962
Location: 34.77925 N, 86.61244 W
Zip Code(s): 35611 35741 35749 35758 35759 35773 35801 35802 35803
35805 35806 35808 35810 35811 35816
The number that has "N" or "S" after it is
the one you want (we made it look larger in the example above).
The longitude doesn't matter!
Step
2
Print
out the sundial page. Use the Southern Hemisphere page if you
live south of the equator, and the Northern Hemisphere page is
you live north of the equator. You will also need scissors and
some tape.
Step 3
Take
your sundial outside and aim it North (or South if you live south
of the equator). Remember if it's in the summer, it might show
an hour later for Daylight Savings Time.
Southern
Hemisphere |
Part
I: Gnomon
1. Cut out your gnomon (the part that stands up in the middle
of the sundial) shown below.
2. Cut the three dotted lines at one end of the gnomon.
3. Fold the gnomon in half and then fold the folded gnomon
in half.
Part
II: Sundial
1. Depending on the time of the year, you tape the gnomon
on different sides of the sundial face. If it is after the
Fall Equinox, you tape it on the numbered side. If it is after
the Spring Equinox, you assemble the sundial “inside-out”,
and tape the gnomon on the back or un-numbered side.
2. Cut along the dotted lines on each end of the sundial page
but don't cut all the way across. Stop at the stop marks.
3. Fold the remaining dashed lines
4. Fold each ramp side along the line that is closest to your
latitude.
5. Tape the folded ramps to the back of the folded paper so
that the side labeled "ramp" is vertical.
6. When taping the gnomon on, you match the tabs with the
sundial face.
7. Aim your sundial North. |
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Northern
Hemisphere |
Part
I: Gnomon
1. Cut out your gnomon (the part that stands up in the middle
of the sundial) shown below.
2. Cut the three dotted lines at one end of the gnomon.
3. Fold the gnomon in half and then fold the folded gnomon
in half.
Part
II: Sundial
1. Depending on the time of the year, you tape the gnomon
on different sides of the sundial face. If it is after the
Fall Equinox, you tape it on the numbered side. If it is after
the Spring Equinox, you assemble the sundial “inside-out”,
and tape the gnomon on the back or un-numbered side.
2. Cut along the dotted lines on each end of the sundial page
but don't cut all the way across. Stop at the stop marks.
3. Fold the remaining dashed lines
4. Fold each ramp side along the line that is closest to your
latitude.
5. Tape the folded ramps to the back of the folded paper so
that the side labeled "ramp" is vertical.
6. When taping the gnomon on, you match the tabs with the
sundial face.
7. Aim your sundial North. |
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