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Human Sundial at Heritage Farm

Posted by erika.d.johnson | August 11, 2015

MASTER GARDENER PROGRAM — Special Projects

sundialtime5

 

Since ancient times, humans have used the sun and markings on the ground to cast shadows that tell them local solar time.

The sundial at the 78th Street Heritage Farm uses techniques developed thousands of years ago to enable visitors to use their shadow to tell local time based on the month of the year. Built in 2015, the installation is the area’s only public human-scale sundial. Children and adults alike marvel at its simple yet elegant use of mathematics and position of the sun to tell time with ease.

This installation was made possible through the work of the WSU Extension Clark County Master Gardener Program and generous in-kind donations from:

  • Master Gardener Foundation of Clark County
  • Mutual Materials
  • Stone Art/Bass Memorials
  • U-Haul
  • Nutter Corp

Click here for instructions on how to use the sundial.

For more information on the history of sundials visit http://www.livescience.com/28057-ancient-egyptian-sundial-discovered.html 

Read a nice article about our project, and another nice article.