Poudre River Public Library District Blog
LIBRARY HOURS
Old Town Library
Harmony Library
Council Tree Library
LIBRARY HOURS Old Town Library
Harmony Library
Council Tree Library
(970) 221-6740
  • Catalog
  • Articles
  • Events
  • Site
Advanced Search

(970) 221-6740

Prospector
Front Range Community College
Business | Genealogy

(970) 221-6740

Prospector
Front Range Community College
All Events | Classes | Programs | Storytimes

(970) 221-6740

Prospector
Front Range Community College
Site Map

(970) 221-6740

Prospector
Front Range Community College
My Account Library Locations What's New ResearchDownload How do I? Events KidsTeens
  • Home
  • Using the Library
  • My Account
  • Hours & Locations
  • eResources
  • Calendar
  • Ask a Librarian
  • en español
Skip Navigation
My Account
Locations
What's New
Research
Download
How do I?

Sundials – Tween Zone Weekly Challenge

Posted on July 3, 2020 by Library Staff in Book Recommendations, Library Blog, Library Programs

Your challenge this week if you choose to accept it – make a sundial! 

Sundials are one of the oldest forms of technology in the world! It’s the first time-keeping device ever created. They are believed to have first been used over 3500 years ago in Egypt.

If you would like to learn more about the history of the sundial check out this video from the Canada Science and Technology Museum, then grab your supplies and let’s get building your own sundial. 

Supplies: 

  • Stick or ruler 
  • Rocks or chalk 
  • Playdough (if needed ) 
  • A sunny day or two! 
  • A watch or clock 
A sundial on a stone pedestal

So, how exactly does a sundial work, you ask? As the sun goes about spinning on its axis, the shadows cast by the light from the sun change location throughout the day. By recording these locations on a stationary surface every hour, you can create a way to tell time!  

As you may know, while the Earth is spinning it is also rotating around the Sun in orbit, and the orbit is elliptical not circular so there will be some variance in your sundial’s abililty to tell accurate time all year round. And, don’t forget about Daylight Savings Time. You’ll need to reset your sundial or you’ll be an hour late everywhere! 
 

Instructions:

  1. Find a sunny spot in a lawn or even on a sidewalk. 
  1. Put the stick in the ground.  If it is a sidewalk, put the stick or ruler in the playdough and use that to hold the stick upright on cement. 
  1. Throughout the day, place a rock, or mark with chalk for each hour indicating where the shadow falls at that time.  Depending on your time, you may have to place rocks over a couple of days before your sundial is complete. 

Tip: If you don’t have a stick or ruler just grab a family member and have them stand perfectly still in the sun for a couple of days. Just kidding! Maybe just for a few hours. Am I kidding this time? You be the judge. 

In case you need something smaller, here’s one for you! 

Photo courtesy of the Spurlock Museum.

This is an example of the small sundials that people could carry around with them. For those they needed a compass to make sure they were always facing the right direction to read the sundial correctly. You can read more about this one online.

If making a sundial makes you want to learn more about the technology of time and other inventions that changed the world be sure to check out these items from the library: 

 
You Wouldn’t Want to Live Without Clocks and Calendars! by Fiona Macdonald   

The Time Book: A Brief History from Lunar Calendars to Atomic Clocks by Martin Jenkins   

Invention by Lionel Bender 

1001 Inventions & Awesome Facts from Muslim Civilization from  National Geographic 

Make sure to share your fabulous sundial with us using the hashtag #PoudreLibraries. 

Related

Summer Reading, Summer to Imagine, sundial, tween zone challenge, tweens

Comments are closed.

Recent Posts

  • shelf of books

    Automatic Renewals Begin February 1

    February 1, 2023
  • Lincoln Hills, Colorado

    Colorado Black History / Historia Negra de Colorado

    February 1, 2023
  • Poudre Libraries Staff

    2023: A Look Ahead

    December 29, 2022
  • Harmony, Education, and Determination through the Decades

    December 16, 2022

Try our App! Try our Mobile App!

Facebook Twitter River's Mouth Blog Instagram Pininterest Google Plus LinkedIn FourSquare Flickr You Tube

Navigation

  • Download
  • Events
  • How Do I?
  • Locations
  • My Account
  • Research
  • Site Map
  • Site Search
  • What's New

  • English

  • en español

Community

  • Birth to 5
  • Book Clubs
  • FRCC
  • Kids
  • Outreach
  • Teens

My Library

  • Bookdrops
  • Checking Out Items
  • Computer Classes
  • Computers
  • - Assistive Technology
  • - Printing
  • - Printing (3D)
  • - Wireless
  • Library Cards
  • Meeting Rooms
  • Suggest a Purchase

Resources

  • Answer Center
  • Ask-a-Librarian
  • Business Center
  • Job & Career Center
  • Nonprofit Resources
  • Genealogy
  • History Connection
  • InterLibrary Loan
  • Prospector
  • Readers' Cafe
  • - Reading Level Search
  • Research

Get Involved

  • Donations
  • Friends of the Library
  • Library Trust
  • Volunteers

About us

  • Board of Trustees
  • Executive Director
  • Jobs
  • Leadership Team
  • Library Newsletter
  • Policies
  • River's Mouth Blog
  • Sign Up for E-News

  • Help

  • Contact us

Poudre River Public Library District, 301 Olive Street, Fort Collins, CO 80524, (970) 221-6740
Including the collection of Front Range Community College, Larimer Campus