The sun dial works! Well, it works during the day when you can see your shadow. Try it!
By standing on the flagstone, where the month is inscribed, your shadow becomes the hands of a clock on the nature center’s human sun dial. This month, you will stand on the “OCT,” which stands for October. You may notice that December and June are not written in the rock. During the months of December and June, stand in the black rectangle of rock where you would expect that month to be. The place to stand for December is just below November, while June is located just above May.
The next time you are at the nature center, try out the sun dial. It is certainly fun to tell time with your shadow.
If you are wondering why you need to stand on a certain month, think about how the sun’s path changes between winter and summer. The sun’s path also changes the path your shadow will take during the day. If you are an experiential learner, try standing on a different month and see how your location changes where your shadow lands on the sun dial.
Explore. Experiment. Enjoy.
Special thanks to Dave Yeamans, for being our human sun dial model and to Selvi Viswanathan for sharing this photo.