NAME:

SECTION:
Sundial to Determine the Time of the Day
I. Making a Sundial
A sundial is a device that tells the time of day when there is sunlight by the apparent position of the
Sun in the sky. In the narrowest sense of the word, it consists of a flat plate (the dial) and a gnomon, which
casts a shadow onto the dial.
The first sundial in the Philippines is located in Tagudin, Ilocos Sur.The older sundial, is found inside
the St. Augustine School in Tagudin, built in 1841. Because it is inside a school compound, a tourist cannot
easily visit the older sundial. But they look exactly the same, only differing in orientation and inscriptions.

Materials:
▪ Paper plate (Can be any paper cut into circle)
▪ Plastic Straw (Can be a stick, ballpen or pencil)
▪ Ruler
▪ Pencil
▪ Crayons/Marker
▪ Push pins

1 Gather your tools. This easy sundial is a great project for kids on a summer day. The tools required are
very simple – you probably already have everything you need at home. The items required are
crayons/markers, a paper plate, a sharpened pencil, pushpins, a ruler and a straight plastic straw.
• Start preparing the plate at around 11:30 a.m. on a sunny, cloudless day.
2. Write the number 12 on the very edge of the plate. Use a crayon or marker for this. Take the sharpened
pencil and push it through the center of the paper plate. Remove the pencil so that you’re left with a hole in
the center.

3. Use a ruler to draw a straight line. Draw it from the 12 to the hole you made in the center of the plate.
This number represents 12 o’clock noon.

4. Bring the plate outside shortly before noon. Place it on the ground in an area that will get full sun
exposure all day. Stick the straw through the hole in the center of the plate.
5. Push the straw slightly so. Do this so that it slants in the direction of the closest celestial pole.

6. Rotate the plate at exactly noon. Rotate it so that the straw’s shadow is aligned with the line you drew.
Since you are only measuring the hours of daylight, the plate will end up looking kind of like a clock, showing
only 12 hours.

7. Secure the plate to the ground. Poke a few pushpins through the plate so that it will stay fixed in the
same place on the ground.
8. Return to the plate one hour later. At 1:00 p.m., go back to the plate and check the position of the straw’s
shadow. Write the number 1 at the very edge of the plate, where you see the shadow falling.

10. Set an alarm and go back outside at the top of every hour. Continue marking the shadow’s position
on the edge of the plate. You will observe that the shadow is moving in a clockwise direction.

12. Repeat this process until dusk. Keep marking the plate every hour until you run out of daylight. At this
point, the sundial will be complete.
13. Check the plate the next day. Have your child return to the plate on the next sunny day and tell you the
time based on the shadow’s position. This simple device can be used to tell the time on any sunny day.

II. ATTACH AN IMAGE OF YOUR SUNDIAL WITH NAME AND SIGNATURE ON THE SIDE:

III. ANALYSIS
Compare the time in your watch and sundial.
Trial Time Watch Approximate time in sundial
#1
#2
#3
#4
#5
Guide Questions:

1. Are the time in your watch and the approximate time in sundial the same/different?

2. What do you think is/are the reason/s why the time in your watch is the same/different with
the approximate time in sundial?