They say you can put a stick into the ground, and mark the end of its shadow with a small rock. 15 minutes later, if you mark the end of the shadow again with a small rock, and then draw a line between the two rocks, the line will be an East/West line. We decided to check it out for ourselves.
What you'll need:
- A watch
- two small rocks
- a stick of some kind
This was a really, really simple project. Just stick the stick in the ground, mark the end of the shadow, wait 15 minutes and do the same thing. Draw a line between the two, and voila! Done.
What took a tiny bit more thought (but only a tiny bit) was deciding the following: if you were in the middle of the desert, or field, which would be East and which would be West? We decided that if it was past noon, the first rock you place will be the Westernmost rock. The second rock you place will be the Easternmost rock. We think it would be the opposite if you do it before noon. In that case, the first rock you place would be the Easternmost, and the second, the Westernmost. Right?
Anyway. So here it goes. We stuck a piece of scrap rebar in the ground (because that's what we had most available)
Then we sat around and talked for 15 minutes (which was fun!). And when the 15 minutes was up, we marked the end of the shadow with a second stone, and drew a line between the two.
The line was indeed East - West!
