Did You Know?

Shadow play has a history of more than 2,000 years, probably originating in the eastern countries of China and India. It is actually a folk art that blends painting, sculpture, music, singing, and performing. Shadow plays are connected with the daily life of the people, honoring their deities and important life events such as birth, marriage, and death.

Sundials were the first devices used to tell time. Dating back to ancient Egypt, sundials have helped people to stay on time by tracking the position and length of shadows. A typical sundial is made up of 2 main parts, the center piece (called the gnomon), which casts the shadow; and the face plate, which is calibrated with the hours of the day. As the sun shines on the sundial throughout the day, the center piece casts a shadow that moves across the face plate. The time of day is found by looking at the position of the shadow on the face plate.

Design Challenge

Create a Shadow Play for others to watch. Design puppets and props that will cast shadows on a wall when they are held in front of a light source (a flash light at home or an overhead projector in the classroom will work great). Determining the initial size of the puppets will be a very important consideration to think through before you get started.

Constraint: The actual space on the wall where the play will be presented needs to be a predetermined size to create the "stage" (e.g. 4'x 3'). The puppets need to be proportional to one another and fit inside the established "stage".

Extensions: Find a way to create a prism so that you can separate the colors of light. Incorporate these colors into your play.

Place your light source in a fixed location. Create new puppets that will fit on your "stage" without moving the light source (think about scale and proportion). Can you figure out the ratio of your puppets height to the height of the shadows they cast on the wall?

Some suggested materials: cardboard, construction paper, grocery bags, popsicle sticks, pipe cleaners, brads, plastic wrap, plastic bags, flashlight, overhead projector, slide projector or other light source*, glue (stick or liquid), straws, craft sticks, colored plastic sheets (overhead sheets).

Standards Addressed

Grades 3 & 4: Describe and compare the attributes of plane and solid geometric figures and use their understanding to show relationships and solve problems.

Grades 5 & 6: Identify, describe, and classify the properties of, and the relationships between, plane and solid geometric figures.

Grade 6: Identify and describe the properties of 2-Demensional figures.

Grades 7 & 8: Choose appropriate units of measure and ratios to convert within and between measurement systems to solve problems.

Grades 7 & 8: Demonstrate how perimeter, area and, volume are affected by changes of scale.

Number Sense:
Grade 6: Students solve problems involving fractions, ratios, proportions, and percentages.

Physical Science:
Grade 3: Light has a source and travels in a direction.

Grade 7: Light can be reflected, refracted, transmitted, and absorbed by matter; The angle of reflection of a light beam is equal to the angle of incidence.