Materials Required:
l A sunny day
l Compass
l Pencil
Procedure:
- On a sunny day, take a compass and pencil outdoors. Allow the compass needle to come to rest, then place the pencil’s eraser at the ‘S’. Tilt the pencil at a 45° angle in line with the needle.
- Imagine the compass face as the dial of a clock. ‘N’ is 12 o’clock, ‘E’ is 3 o’clock, ‘S’ is 6 o’clock, and ‘W’ is 9 o’clock. You can tell the approximate time by observing where the shadow falls.
This Is What Happens:
Long ago, people did not have clocks or watches. They knew how late in the day it was by the position of the sun in the sky. Then someone discovered that he could tell time more precisely by observing where the sun cast a shadow on a round disk. This was called a sundial. You just made a type of sundial with the compass and pencil. The hour that you read on your compass is Standard Time. If Daylight Saving Time is in effect where you live, add one hour to your reading.
