Do shadows have different widths at different times of day?
This young scientist measured the width of her shadow at her head, waist
and legs. She plans to take the same measurements at different times of
the day. With observation she noticed that the height of her shadow
changed and wants to measure that as well.
Do shadows have different temperatures?
Several young scientists take the temperature in the shade and compare it to the temperature in the sun. One child began puzzled, "Can you really take the temperature of a shadow? I mean it is just darkness." We realized that we were measuring air temperature in the shadow and air temperature in the sun.
What will my shadow do if I fall over in the opposite direction?
This child serves as a model for her friend who is behind the camera documenting her research. "I found out that if you fall over your shadow is always going to end up underneath you."
Other questions being investigated include
Do shadows have a pattern for when they are there and not there?
Do clear things make a shadow?
How far does a shadow move in an hour?
I'm not interested in the children learning every possible fact about shadows. I am interested in the children learning to think and research like scientists. I want to make room for their own curiosity and support them as they experiment to find answers to their own questions.
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