What is a hemisphere?

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Imagine you had a ball of clay and decided to divide it in half. The ball of clay was a sphere, and after the split, it became half a ball of clay! If you can picture this, then you’re on your way to understanding hemispheres... 

The word “hemisphere” means “half a sphere.” (A sphere is a shape that's round, like a ball.) Now imagine that the Earth is that ball of clay. If you divide it across its middle—an imaginary line called the Equator that runs around our planet like a belt—the two halves created are called the Northern Hemisphere and the Southern Hemisphere.

But did you know that there’s more than one way to divide the Earth in half?! There’s another imaginary circle around the Earth, and it’s created by the Prime Meridian and the 180th Meridian, which run opposite one another and join at the North Pole and South Pole. If you divide the Earth from top to bottom along this big circle, you get the Eastern Hemisphere and the Western Hemisphere!

Did you know that countries can be in more than one hemisphere? For example, the United States is in the Northern Hemisphere and the Western Hemisphere. France is in the Northern Hemisphere. Since the Prime Meridian passes through it, part of the country is in the Western Hemisphere while part is in the Eastern Hemisphere!

If you read the answer above, you just imagined cutting a ball of clay in half—now it’s time to try it out for yourself!

Take a chunk of craft dough and roll it between your palms until you have a sphere. Now use some dental floss or fishing line as a cutting tool. Try slicing the dough ball in the middle from back to front (along its imaginary Equator). You have your very own Northern and Southern Hemispheres!

Now re-roll the ball and try using the floss or fishing line to cut it from top to bottom (along its imaginary Prime Meridian/180th Meridian).  Say hello to the Eastern and Western Hemispheres!

Enjoy your clay time!