Outdoor Science - Light and Shadow Multi-disciplinary Inquiry

If you and your child can go outside without meeting throngs of people, this is an excellent opportunity to do some outdoor Science.  Use a journal or notebook to record your measurements and observations.  Here are some ideas:

Science topic - Light and Shadow
1. Bring a long measuring tape.  Go outside when there is enough sunlight to cast a shadow. If the ground is covered in snow, you can make marks in the snow.  If you're on a sidewalk or driveway, sidewalk chalk works really well.

• First - in the early morning - have one person stand still while another person measures the length of their shadow.  Mark the locations of their feet and the head of the shadow.
• Second - mid-day, when the sun is as high as it's going to get. Have the person stand in the same location and mark the new shadow.  Note the changes in length and direction.
• Third - late in the day, when shadows are getting long, repeat. 

2. On a sunny day, bring small mirrors, reflectors, aluminum lids, foil pans, old cds, anything that reflects light well.  If you have a magnifying glass and/or a prism, bring them too.

• First, have the safety lesson.  Make sure that everyone understands that sunlight is powerful enough to burn, and that sunlight will damage your eyes if you look directly at the sun.
• Then, spend some time experimenting with light: use the correct terms to talk about what's happening, then write the results in the journal.  Always draw a diagram with labels so anyone who didn't watch the experiments understands what you did, and what happened.

Note: If you can't go outside, you can still do these experiments with sun shining through the window. (Just be careful not to set the carpet on fire with the magnifying glass! Adult supervision is a good idea.)

3. On a cloudy day, do these experiments indoors with a flashlight or a bright lamp.

4. Use a magnifying glass to get close to the TV, computer screen, tablet, or phone screen.  What do you see?  Record your observations in your journal and explain how you think they work.

5. If you have two magnifying glasses, can you combine them to work like a telescope or microscope?

6. Use a telescope or binoculars to experiment with what they can do.  Try using them during daylight, and also when it is dark outside.  Record what you observed in your journal.

Upper elementary / middle school

I created a booklet of multiple Light and Shadow experiments for students to do at centres that had equipment set up, ready to use.  You are welcome to download the booklet, and choose experiments that suit your needs.  Science Projects and Activities

High school
Do a research project about Astronomy.  What do we know today?  What are astronomers researching now? What equipment is being used to make new discoveries?

Art connections
1.  Have one person stand in the same spot.  Trace their feet so they stay there. Use different colours of sidewalk chalk to trace the same person's shadows as they stand in different poses.  Fun, creative, interesting results!  Take a photo and post it online.
2.  Find art works that are about Light and Shadow.  How do they show the topic?
3.  Find art works that use the contrast between light and shadow to highlight parts of the work.  What does the term "chiaroscuro" mean?

Health connections - Do a study of the human eye and how it works.  How can too much light be dangerous.  How do some animals see in the dark?  Do sea creatures have special eye adaptations?

Music connections - Find music that relates to the topic of Light and Shadow. 

For lots of videos and website links, you can download the complete unit plan.  Parents and teachers are welcome to download the complete unit plan - "Light and Shadow Inquiry Plan 2015."  This is for you to use or share (free, a gift from me), but please don't sell it. Science Projects and Activities