Who needs a watch? Let the sun tell the time!

Sundials are a way to tell the time using only the shadow that the sun casts and some simple materials. Most likely invented in Ancient Babylon around 1500 BCE, sundials were used to track time long before clocks, watches, or yes, even smart phones. This low-tech approach to telling time may not be used too much anymore, but it’s still really cool…and the best news is, you can build your own sundial in just a few short steps with a few basic materials!

You will need:

A pencil or very straight stick
Rocks
Playdoh or clay (optional)
Sun!

Step One:

Take your materials outside on a sunny day and put your pencil or stick upright. You can do this (with an adult’s help, if necessary) by sticking it into the ground or, if you don’t have soft ground nearby, by making a disk with clay as a base.

Step Two:

You will notice that your pencil casts a shadow. Mark where the shadow lands with a small rock.

Step Three:

Check your sundial every hour, marking where the shadows land with a rock each time. Once the first hour passes, try and predict where the next hour markers will fall!

Try this project at different points during the summer, spring, fall, and winter and make notes in your Nature Observation Journal about how long the shadows are, if there’s any difference in the space between the hour markers, or any other changes you may find!

Hudson Crossing Park’s mission is to tie environmental responsibility to economic revitalization, and to engage people of all ages and abilities in making informed choices for a sustainable future.

Hudson Crossing Park is a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation. It is non-sectarian and does not discriminate against persons of any race, color, sexual orientation, gender, religion, national or ethnic origin, or those with differing abilities, respecting the dignity and worth of all individuals.

It is with gratitude and humility that we acknowledge that we are learning, speaking and gathering on the ancestral homelands of the Mohican people, who are the indigenous peoples of this land.
Despite tremendous hardship in being forced from here, today their community resides in Wisconsin and is known as the Stockbridge-Munsee Community.
We pay honor and respect to their ancestors past and present as we commit to building a more inclusive and equitable space for all.

During your visit to Hudson Crossing Park, you may be unobtrusively photographed, videotaped, or filmed by Hudson Crossing Park staff, volunteers, or authorized parties for park promotion.
Your attendance/admission serves as permission for use of these images by Hudson Crossing Park.

For driving directions to Hudson Crossing Park, visit our FAQ page.

Four award logos for being a Great Non Profit 2018 through 2021

Hudson Crossing Park

Hudson Crossing Park

Build Your Own Sundial

Hudson Crossing Park

Who needs a watch? Let the sun tell the time!

You will need:

A pencil or very straight stick

Rocks

Playdoh or clay (optional)

Sun!

Step One:

Take your materials outside on a sunny day and put your pencil or stick upright. You can do this (with an adult’s help, if necessary) by sticking it into the ground or, if you don’t have soft ground nearby, by making a disk with clay as a base.

Step Two:

You will notice that your pencil casts a shadow. Mark where the shadow lands with a small rock.

Step Three:

Check your sundial every hour, marking where the shadows land with a rock each time. Once the first hour passes, try and predict where the next hour markers will fall!

Try this project at different points during the summer, spring, fall, and winter and make notes in your Nature Observation Journal about how long the shadows are, if there’s any difference in the space between the hour markers, or any other changes you may find!