The 'Human Sun Clock' at Walton School

Image: © David Purchase Taken: 30 May 2013

I have seen a few similar "human sundials", but this must be the best. If a child stands on the current month, then his or her shadow will be cast on the ground to indicate the time. In the winter months (blue) the sun is lower in the sky and so casts a longer shadow, reaching the blue numbers. In the summer the sun is higher and so the red numbers come into play. This is the only such dial that I have seen which deliberately includes the "British Summer Time" correction. There may be problems around late March or late October, but I am sure that the teachers would be able to explain them. The whole dial is, of course, not very accurate, but must be a superb way of demonstrating the (apparent) motion of the Sun both through the day and through the seasons. Unfortunately when I was there the sky, though bright, was covered in low, thin cloud and so I could not carry out a 'personal' observation.

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