Straight stick (about two feet long) and a handful of pebbles.
Step 2: Find a Sunny Area
Look for a place that gets full sun exposure all day long. Push one end of the stick into the grass or earth.
If you don’t have access to a grassy area with soft earth, you can improvise.Fill a small bucket with sand
or gravel and plant the stick directly in the center of it.
Note:
• If you live in the Northern Hemisphere, slightly slant the stick toward the North.
• If you live in the Southern Hemisphere, slight it slightly toward the South.
Step 3: Start at 7:00AM
If you want to complete the sundial in a single day, begin in the morning after the sun has fully risen.
Survey the stick at 7:00 a.m. As the sun shines down on it, the stick will cast a shadow. Use one of your
pebbles to mark the place where the shadow falls on the ground.
Step 4: Return to the stick every hour
Set an alarm or keep an eye on your watch so that you can update the dial at the top of every hour. Return at
8:00 a.m. and use another pebble to mark where the stick’s shadow falls on the ground. Do the same thing at
9:00 a.m., 10:00 a.m. and so on.
If you want the greatest amount of accuracy, use chalk to mark each pebble with the exact time you placed it
on the ground.
The shadow will move in a clockwise direction.
Step 5: Continue Process Until Dusk
Return every hour and mark it with a pebble on the ground. Do this until there is no more sunlight left in
the day. Your sundial will be complete at day’s end. As long as the sun is shining, you can use this simple
device to tell what time of the day it is.
Source: http://www.wikihow.com/Make-a-Sundial
Star Dial
Find the Big Dipper and the North Star
If you picture a clock with the North Star at its center, and draw an imaginary line starting from the North
Star through the 2 pointer stars of the Big Dipper – Dubhe and Merak. Assume that this is the hour hand of
your imaginary star clock
Unlike a Regular Analog Clock Face
The clock you just created in the sky is a 24-hour clock. Unlike on a regular analog clock face where an hour
takes up 30 degrees of a full circle, the imaginary hour hand on the star clock moves only 15 degrees per
hour. What's more, this hour hand moves counter-clockwise.
Draw another imaginary line straight up from the North Star. This line will mark midnight or the passing of
24 hours.
Telling Time
To tell time, look at where the hour hand points to in relation to the reference line. Remember, each
15-degree movement corresponds with the passing of 1 hour.
Now, look at the calendar for the date. If it is March 6, you do not need to do any calculations. The time on
your imaginary clock will be the actual time. For example, if the pointer hour hand points straight to the
top of the imaginary clock, the time will be midnight. If it points 30 degrees to the right of the reference
line, the time would be 22:00 or 10 pm.
Calculating Times for Different Months
To calculate times for different months, you will need to do the following calculation: Time = Dipper Time –
2 X the number of months since March 6.
Time as an Estimate
The time you get will be a rough estimate and may be off by about 30 minutes as compared to a clock. To
account for Daylight Savings Time (DST), add 1 hour to the calculation in the months that DST is in place at
your location.
