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How to Make a Sun Dial for a Science Project

Sundials were one of the first tools invented for telling time. Though not entirely accurate and unusable at night or in cloud cover, they provided ancient peoples with the means to accurately chart the position of the sun in the sky. As a science project, a sundial can be an effective tool for teaching students about how shadows are formed and why they look different at different times of day.

Things You'll Need

  • Pencils
  • Paper
  • Protractor
  • Scissors
  • Compass
  • Ruler
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Instructions

    • 1

      Fold a piece of 8.5-by-11 inch paper lengthwise, and cut it in half along the crease. Mark a point 3 inches away from the horizontal ends on either side with the ruler and draw a vertical line down these points, so that the paper is divided into three sections, with the middle section larger than those on the sides.

    • 2

      Draw a half circle that fills up most of the middle section of the paper with the protractor. Draw a line from the center point to the bottom of the curve, splitting the half circle in two. Draw five evenly spaced lines on both sides. Label the top right of the half circle 6 a.m., the left top 6 p.m., and finally label all the points you marked in between with the appropriate times.

    • 3

      Draw a dot on the center point of the half circle. Fold along the lines 3 inches from the horizontal ends that you drew earlier. Push the pencil about halfway through the paper. This is the base of your sundial -- but it still needs to be slightly adjusted.

    • 4

      Take the sundial base outside on a sunny day at or near noon, and use the compass to find north. Place the base on the ground so the pencil faces north, and it and the paper are at opposite 45-degree angles from the ground. Check the position of the pencil's shadow. It should be near the 12 position, but not there exactly.

    • 5

      Fold the flaps on both horizontal ends inward. Bend the flaps downward until the shadow from the pencil is exactly on noon. This compensates for the fact that the sun appears in slightly different positions depending on latitude, but time zones are only determined by longitude. Fold the flaps vertically so the base will stand up on its own and remain pointing toward 12. If you have trouble getting the sundial to stand up on its own, you can glue a cardboard base to the back.

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