The Summer Solstice is the longest day of the year and the sun is it it’s highest position in relation to the Earth. This means that the shadows are the shortest than they will be all year. (Think about how in summer the sun feels directly overhead, that’s because it is!) In fact areas close to the equator will actual be able to observe zero shadow days on the solstices at solar noon. Ancient astronomers measured the length of shadows to make mathematical calculations, like Eratosthenes, who in approximately 200 BCE calculated the circumference of the Earth be making detailed measurements of how shadows lengthen and shorten throughout the year. In addition to the shadow drawing project described below, you could also draw or record the shadow of a fixed object outdoors on both Winter and Summer Solstice and compare the difference. (Winter Solstice is when shadows are the longest because teh sun is the lowest in the sky.)
A shorter shadow means it’s easier to fit on a piece of paper which makes this the perfect time to make shadow drawings!
Materials:
- paper (the bigger the better)
- drawing tools (charcoal. chalk, pens, pencils, markers, etc)
- a shadow
Method:
Choose a fixed object (like a tree or statue or even the corner or your house, although I like the organic shapes better) to draw and place your paper on teh ground so that the shadow is cast onto the paper. Trace the line of teh shadow with your drawing tool. (Whichever one you want to use.)
Come back every hour or so and redraw the shadow, it will move across the paper.
Options:
If you use charcoal or a similar medium, you can smudge each shadow line as you draw a new one so that they will look like they get crisper later in the day. (That is how the title image was made.) You could achieve the same effect by drawing lighter to darker or thin lines to thick lines with any tool.
Alternatively, you could use different colors for different times. You can record the time of each shadow or leave it blank.
Another way to do this is to pick a shadow on your driveway or sidewalk and use sidewalk chalk skipping the paper all together!