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Why does my shadow move? |
Our Planet
If there’s a light on in the room you’re in right now, or if you are outside and the Sun is shining, chances are you’ll be able to see your shadow. Did you find it? If you wave, it waves. If you kick your leg, your shadow kicks too!
A shadow isn’t made of anything. It is actually missing something: light! Your shadow is an area on the ground (or a wall, or somewhere around you) where your body is blocking light energy from hitting. If the source of the light is still, like a lamp, your shadow will only move when your body moves.
If the source of the light is moving, like car headlights driving by you at night, your shadow moves because the light is coming at you from changing direction. This causes the spot where the light is blocked to change too.
Puppet Show!
Have you ever made shadow puppets? It’s really easy. All you need is a lamp on one side of the room, a wall that it shines on, and you in the middle! Make your hands into different shapes. Maybe you can use both hands to make bird or butterfly wings and make the shadow animal flutter across the room. What other animals can you make?
How does the size of the shadow puppet change as you stand closer to the light? Why do you think it changes size? What is the smallest that your shadow puppet can get? Where are you standing when that happens?
See if you can put on a shadow puppet show. Think about all the different shadow characters you can make just by using your hands!
