11/02/2021
🧭🕰 🔆SUNDIAL MAGIC🔆 🕰🧭
Building a connection to our surroundings can be so important in developing an affinity with the nature. If we can take small steps to begin to observe and interact with the world around us we might find surprising solutions to the everyday problems we face whilst also connecting to civilisations of the past.
Learning about direction and time are two things that can feel quite abstract. When we first encounter the numbers on a clock or the letters on a compass we do not always have a direct connection to how these symbols actually link to the movement and placement of the earth in space! These moments of on the spot learning can be fantastic opportunities to embed literacy and numeracy skills whilst simultaneously tackling BIG concepts and ideas.
When we begin to consciously observe the sun during the course of the day we will start to notice how it travels across the sky, rising at one point and setting at the opposite point. Day to night, day to day, the passing of time reminds us that the world is turning and in a constant rotation around the sun. This rotation is on an axis and our sense of direction and understanding of North, South, East and West can begin to help us connect to our location on planet Earth.
The ancient Egyptians were one of the first ancient civilisations to divide a day into sections, so they could tell what time it was.
Around 3,500 BCE (a long, long time ago), the Egyptians used the shadows the giant stone obelisks cast on the ground to tell the time of day. Later on, the ancient Egyptians invented the first portable timepiece. It was also a shadow clock, but you could carry it around with you. To tell time, you pointed the end of the rod towards the east in the morning and towards the west in the afternoon. The raised centre piece cast a shadow on the rod. Where the shadow fell on the markings would tell you what time it was. Pretty clever right?!
We hope you enjoy creating your very own shadow magic at home. Let us know how you get on!
