It's About Time: Sundials (Draft Version) - the Science Olympiad trial event, Saturday, 22 April 2006, sponsored by the The North American Sundial Society. See also Instructional Objectives (Draft Version) and Continuum of Competition - Specifications for Sundial Design & Construction (Draft Version).

Related Resources

• North American Sundial Society (NASS)
  1. FAQ, including links to the NASS Glossary (an abridged version of the unabridged The BSS Sundial Glossary), and Tips Before You Start
  2. A lat/lon calculator to convert from deg/min/sec to decimal degrees or vise-versa
  3. Dialing Scales: Serle's Ruler (used to either construct or "deconstruct" sundials)
     1. What Latitude Was It Designed For? by Steven Woodbury, Compendium, Volume 2 Number 2, June 1995, pp. 7-9.
     2. Serle's Ruler, a Microsoft® PowerPoint® presentation by Dr. Robert Kellogg, Treasurer, NASS
  4. Links to a rich variety of sundial-related resources, including a couple of sections of special interest: Education; and Software.
• Educator's Guide to Equatorial Sundials, Sandburg Center for Sky Awareness (SCSA), a Fairfax County Public Schools Planetarium [Note: The author currently serves as chairperson, NASS Education Committee.]
  1. Solar Versus Standard Time
  2. Table of the Declination of the Sun
  3. Table of the Equation of Time
  4. Use the SCSA Pole-to-Dial Converter-Calculator to convert any vertical pole (e.g., a flagpole, utility pole, etc.) into a fully functional sundial featuring "date curves" (declination lines) for the equinoxes and solstices.
• Graphical (or Geometrical) Method of Sundial Construction (step-by-step instructions)
  1. Paul R. Field, member, NASS
     1. Horizontal (related graphics located in the following root directory: http://home.netcom.com/~abraxas2/)
     2. Vertical (related graphics located in the following root directory: http://home.netcom.com/~abraxas2/)
  2. The Sundial Primer, by Carl Sabanski (see below)
  3. Project 3 - How to make a sundial, by Andre E. Bouchard (a featured link from the website, Sundials on the Internet).
• Two highly recommended books from Dover Publications, Inc. Similar content; complementary coverage. Both books use the graphical (or geometrical) method of sundial construction--a simple, non-mathematical approach to constructing sundials. In a word, these two books are a "must-have" for the novice sundialist.
  1. Sundials: Their Construction and Use, by R. Newton Mayall, Margaret W. Mayall, ©2000
  2. Sundials: Their Theory and Construction, by Albert Edmund Waugh, ©1973
• "Using and Understanding Sundials" with "Concepts for Students of Sundialling" is a CD-ROM containing 150 PowerPoint slides in two sets. Animation is used to convey some of the more difficult concepts in a way which will find uses at many levels in education or with beginners in dialling. The CD-ROM was developed and published by Tony Moss of Lindisfarne Sundials in consultation with members of the North American Sundial Society and the British Sundial Society. It is obtainable from:
  'The Lindisfarne Presse'
  43 Windsor Gardens
  Bedlington
  Northumberland
  England NE22 5SY
  US $20.00 including postage. ISBN 0-9550828-0-3. For a preview, see CD ROM "Using and Understanding Sundials" by Tony Moss.
• The Sundial Primer, created by Carl Sabanski
  1. Sunny Day U(niversity)
  2. "Long Hand" Sundials - graphical (or geometrical) method of sundial construction
• Illustrating Shadows, by Simon Wheaton-Smith (book + CD-ROM)
• A Field Trip Guide for the planetarium show, And a Star to Steer Her By, Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. Refer to the following activities: Activity 1: Latitude and Polaris; Activity 2: Where is Polaris? (see p. 18, Activity 2 Blackline Master: The Quadrant); and Activity 3: Longitude and Time.
• Howstuffworks "How Time Works"