Cycles and Patterns
STEM Activity 5: Make a Sun Dial
Purpose: Children learn how to use the Sun to tell time.
Supplies needed per child: 1 drinking straw or pencil, sun dial template for duplicating on cardstock, scissors, scotch tape for assembly. Single-hole punch (1-2 needed for group).
Download the Sky & Telescope template: English or Spanish. Visit Sky & Telescope for more information
Age level: elementary school age children. Younger children wil have difficulty with the folding.
Notes: Instructions are printed on template. Cut and fold lines (with latitude numbers) are marked. Page setup should be Landscape. Use card stock for best results. Additional discussion topics for older children: shadows, eclipse.
Additional Resources
- Make a Sun Dial from a Paper Plate
- Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics: Making a Sundial
- Eye on the Sky-Project #14: Sundials: Observing and Using Shadows
- NASA: I Tell only Sunny Hours
- The First Clock - Origin of the Sundial
Classroom Resources
- Current Information Boards
- Additional Observing Materials
- Electromagnetic Spectrum
STEM Activity 1: UV Light Detectors
STEM Activity 2: Spectrum Game
STEM Activity 3: Sun Catcher - Solar System
STEM Activity 7: Solar System Scale - Health Effects of Solar Radiation
STEM Activity 1: UV Light Detectors
STEM Activity 9: Sun Prints - Albedo & Energy Transformation
STEM Activity 4: Testing the temperatures of different colors
STEM Activity 6: Where does the energy come from? - Cycles & Patterns
STEM Activity 5: Make a Sun Dial - Constellations and the Night Sky
STEM Activity 8: How We Organize the Sky