Groundhog Day is an excellent opportunity to teach preschoolers about light and shadows.
Here are two science activities for the budding scientists in your home.
Shadow making
Explain to the children that shadows are caused by objects that get in the way of the sun or a bright light. Shine the light from a film projector, a slide projector or a lamp on a bare wall. Turn off the lights in the room. Let the children stand in front of the bright light & experiment with making their own shadows. Ask them to make big shadows, little shadows, animal shadows and moving shadows.
To make your own hand shadows, click here.
Shadows and Light
For added exploration of shadows, experiment by having the light source further or closer and by having the child stand closer or further away from the paper. Encourage the children to observe and to articulate what happens to the shadow. Also observe what happens to shadows when the room is darker or lighter. This can be a fun introduction to the science of light.
Here's a fun way to trace shadows and learn about them too.
Tracing Shadows
Here are two science activities for the budding scientists in your home.
Shadow making
Explain to the children that shadows are caused by objects that get in the way of the sun or a bright light. Shine the light from a film projector, a slide projector or a lamp on a bare wall. Turn off the lights in the room. Let the children stand in front of the bright light & experiment with making their own shadows. Ask them to make big shadows, little shadows, animal shadows and moving shadows.
To make your own hand shadows, click here.
Shadows and Light
For added exploration of shadows, experiment by having the light source further or closer and by having the child stand closer or further away from the paper. Encourage the children to observe and to articulate what happens to the shadow. Also observe what happens to shadows when the room is darker or lighter. This can be a fun introduction to the science of light.
Here's a fun way to trace shadows and learn about them too.
Tracing Shadows
