01What you need
- A straight stick about a yard longFree
- Three small stones or twigs to mark withFree
- A timer, or a snack that takes fifteen minutesHave
- A phone compass or a map, to check your answer at the endHave
Where: Any level, sunny spot: a backyard, a park lawn, or a schoolyard.
Sun safety: read this first
- Never look at the sun, not even for a second, and not through anything. Watch the shadow, not the sky.
- Hats and sunscreen if you'll be out a while.
- Plant the stick firmly and keep faces away from the top end.
02Steps
Find level, sunny ground
KidLook for a flat spot in full sun with no shade from trees or buildings for the next half hour. Bare dirt or short grass is easiest to mark.
Plant the stick
DadPush the stick into the ground so it stands up straight and casts a clear shadow.
Mark the tip of the shadow
KidPut a stone exactly where the tip of the shadow ends. This first mark is west, everywhere on Earth.
Wait ten to fifteen minutes
KidHave the snack, or see who can spot the shadow moving first. After ten to fifteen minutes the tip will have moved a few inches. Put the second stone on the new tip.
Draw the line and face north
KidDraw a line in the dirt, or lay a stick, from the first stone to the second. That line runs roughly west to east. Stand with the first stone on your left and the second on your right: you're facing north.
Check it
Dad coachesNow check with the phone compass or a map. How close did you get? It's an estimate, and it gets better the longer you wait between marks. Point out north to something you know: which way is home, school, Grandma's?
03Variations
Ages 3–5
Mark the shadow, go play, come back and see that it moved. That's the whole lesson, and it's a good one.
Ages 6–9
The full plan, then make a big N, S, E and W out of sticks around the stick.
Ages 10+
Try the slower, more accurate version from the same manual: mark the shadow in the morning, draw an arc through it around the stick with a string, and mark where the afternoon shadow touches the arc again.
CloudyNo shadow, no plan. Swap in the knots plan and try again on a sunny day.
WinterShadows are longer when the sun is low, which makes them easier to mark.
WindyUse heavier stones as markers so they stay put.
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04Sources
- Shadow-tip method. U.S. Army Field Manual 21-76, Survival (June 1992), chapter 18, "Shadow-Tip Methods": the first mark is always west, wait 10 to 15 minutes for the second, and stand with the first mark on your left to face north.
Filed under: Outdoors
