Outdoor
Make a Shadow Clock
Mark a shadow every hour through a sunny day and you have built a clock — and discovered why shadows move at all.
Ages
7-9, 9-11
Level
Lower KS2, Upper KS2
Subject
Science
Duration
40 min
What you'll need
- A stick
- Chalk or stones
- A sunny day
What the learner will explore
- Earth's rotation
- Shadows and light
- Telling time
How to do it
- 1
Push the stick upright into ground or a pot.
- 2
Mark the shadow tip every hour.
- 3
Label each mark with the time.
- 4
Predict where the shadow will be tomorrow.
Make it easier
Mark three times only: morning, noon, evening.
Make it harder
Explain the length changes and compare with a different season.
Try it differently
Use a torch indoors to model it in fast-forward.
Related activities
Voleio activities are ideas and planning support, not educational or medical assessment.