---
title: "Find south with an analog watch"
published: "2026-10-15"
updated: "2026-10-15"
author: "Dad Field Manual editors (drafted with AI help)"
time: "20 min"
cost: "$0"
ages: "7 and up"
where: "Open ground with direct sun, in the daytime."
topics: ["classic-skills","outdoors"]
print: "https://dadfieldmanual.com/print?p=watch-compass"
url: "https://dadfieldmanual.com/plans/watch-compass/"
---

# Find south with an analog watch

> Twenty minutes on a sunny day. Use an old-fashioned watch and the sun to find south, then see how close you came with a real compass.


## What you need

- An analog watch or clock with hands (a phone won't work) (have)
- A magnetic compass or a phone compass to check your answer (have)
- Paper and pencil to record your guesses (have)

## Before you start

- **Never look straight at the sun.** Look at the shadow of your finger or a pencil to line up the hour hand.
- **Stay in the yard or park,** and use sunscreen and water if it's a hot day.

## Steps

1. **Check the clock type** (Dad) You need a watch or clock with an hour hand. Find out whether daylight saving time is on right now. If it is, the 12 on the watch is really the 1.
2. **Point the hour hand at the sun** (Kid) Lay the watch flat in your palm and turn it until the hour hand points toward the sun. A pencil held upright on the dial casts a shadow along the hour hand when it's lined up.
3. **Find the halfway line** (Together) In the morning, south is halfway between the hour hand and 12. At 8 a.m. the hand points to 8, and south is at the 10. In the afternoon, count halfway back: at 4 p.m. south is at the 2.
4. **Mark it** (Kid) Look along the line and pick a landmark, like a tree, that is due south. Put a stick in the ground pointing there.
5. **Check with a real compass** (Together) Hold the compass flat and see how close the stick is to south. Talk about why the answer may be a little off.
6. **Try another time of day** (Together) Come back an hour later and find south again. Does it line up with your stick?

## If it stalls

- If the answer is far off, check that you used the right hour hand position for daylight saving time.
- Clouds thin enough for a faint pencil shadow still work.


## Variations

- **Ages 5–6:** Skip the watch. Stand with the morning sun on your face and name which way is behind you.
- **Ages 7–9:** The full plan at one time of day.
- **Ages 10+:** Find south at three times of day and record how much the error changes.
- **Cloudy:** Wait for a day when you can see a shadow.
- **Hot:** Do it in the morning, with water.

## Sources

- **1911 scouting handbook, p. 57.** The 1911 book says to point the hour hand at the sun. In the morning, south is halfway between the hour hand and noon; in the afternoon, reckon halfway backward. At 8 a.m. south is at 10, and at 4 p.m. it is at 2. <https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/29558> (checked 2026-10-15)
- **Daylight saving time dates.** NASA lists the current US rule: daylight saving time begins at 2 a.m. on the second Sunday of March and ends at 2 a.m. on the first Sunday of November, and Hawaii and most of Arizona don't observe it. <https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/SEhelp/daylightsaving.html> (checked 2026-10-15)