# Homemade Paper Plate Sun Dial
> Paint a paper plate to look like the Sun, stand a paintbrush up through a hole in the middle, and trace its shadow every hour to build a simple sun dial. A fun craft that turns into a lesson about the Sun and telling time.
- URL: https://www.funlittles.com/kids-crafts-homemade-sun-dial/
- Ages: 4–7 yrs · Difficulty: easy · Mess: medium
- Time: prep 10 min, activity 30 min
- Works for: one-on-one, small group, whole class
- Skills: science, time-telling, observation, color-mixing, fine-motor

## Materials (one batch)
- 1 piece Paper plates (good quality) (household)
- Orange, red and yellow paints
- 1 piece Paint brushes (long-handled)
- 1 piece Marker (household)
- 1 piece Something to punch a hole in the plate center (household)
- 1 piece Paint palette (optional)
- 1 piece Cup of water for rinsing brushes (optional) (household)
- 1 piece Table cover or paper (optional) (household)

## Safety
- An adult punches the hole in the center of each plate.
- Remind kids never to look straight at the Sun. Watch the shadow on the plate instead.
- Hourly checks happen in direct sunlight. Use hats, sunscreen and water as needed.
- Craft paint can stain clothes. Use aprons or old shirts and cover the table.

## Before you start
- Pick a sunny day when you know you will be home for most of the day.
- Find a backyard spot that gets plenty of direct sunlight all day.

## Steps
1. Set out paper plates with orange, red and yellow paints and brushes.
2. Mix and swirl the colors on your plate so it looks like the Sun. Use lots of orange and yellow.
3. Set the plates out to dry for a while.
4. Adult: punch a hole in the middle of each plate.
5. Set the sun dials out in a sunny spot outside. We faced ours North.
6. Push a paintbrush through the hole so it stands up straight.
7. Look at the shadow the brush makes on the plate.
8. Every hour, draw a solid line over the shadow with a marker and write the hour next to it.
9. When most of the hour lines are drawn, your sun dial is complete!

## Tips
- This activity turns out great on a day you know you will be home for the most part. The children will be happy to check out the movement of the shadow.
- Use good quality paper plates. They hold up to the paint and to sitting outside all day.
- We got the idea after my 5 year old enjoyed looking at a sun dial at a local observatory. A visit like that is a great lead-in.
- A kindergarten teacher did this as part of a Sun unit and said it worked great. (from readers)

## The original post by TurkeyMom (2014)

Use paper plates to make a simple sun dial for kids. With the sun shining bright already we are heading out more and more. When we visited a local observatory, my 5 year old enjoyed looking at a sun dial there. So, naturally (haha) we came back home and decided to replicate it using paper plates. Fun kids crafts that can be turned into a great learning opportunity. Materials

- Paper Plates
- Orange,Red and Yellow Paints
- Paint Brushes

 I set out good quality paper plates along with some of our gorgeous neon paints.



The children mixed and swirled the colors to make their paper plate to look more like the Sun by using more oranges and yellows.  We set out the plates to dry for a while.  Then comes the fun part. We set out the "sun dials" in our backyard { facing North} where we get plenty of direct sunlight. In the middle of the plate we punched out a hole and attached the paintbrush to stand erect. The children observed the shadow the brush casted on the plate. We checked the shadow every hour and draw a solid line over the shadow. This activity will turn out great when done on a day you know you will home for the most part. The children will be happy to check out the movement of the shadow.



Once most of the shadow lines are drawn every hour along with the corresponding numbers (hours), they would have made a complete sun dial. 



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