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This project first originated as a desperate attempt to keep my toddler busy while waiting for our food at a restaurant.  Our first shadow puzzle included silverware, sugar packets, condiment bottles, and a few toys from the diaper bag traced onto a napkin with a pen I had in my purse.  Since then, it's become a fun activity that my 2-year-old loves to keep him busy when I have a few things to get done.  His big brothers even love making shadow puzzles of their own for him!  It's definitely a sanity-saver when you need to keep your kids occupied in public, and it only requires a few materials.

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Gather all materials.  For this part, we went around the house gathering some of my toddler's favorite toys and some items from the kitchen.  I tried to find things that had a definite and unique shape.

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I laid out all the items on our construction paper and traced them using a pencil and then a marker.  

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Then, I removed all of the objects and used different color markers to color in each item.  My toddler loved this and spent a lot of time going over each color.

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My toddler spent a lot of time matching up each object to its shadow and playing with the different items.  I was amazed at how much time he spent at the table manipulating all the different things and showing me which ones they didn't match with.

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My ever-curious daughter asked me, "Why does it look like the sun is following us?"  To better understand that, we fetched the globe and asked  "What do you think might be happening on this other side of the world right now?"

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It was a sunny morning, so we took our globe to the patio outside.  "Where is the sun?" I asked.  "Right there!"  "Yes. Pretty low in the sky, still."  We said the "arm" of the globe was sunrise.

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"So, the sun is shining on the earth like this.... and what is happening on this other side of the world?  Want to pick a place?" The Republic of the Congo, she chose.
"Ooh, Congo!  What do you suppose is happening in Congo right now?"

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It was breakfast time at our house, and it looked like the sun had still not quite set in Congo. We came inside and looked up what time it was in our chosen point on the other side of the world.  Just after 4 pm in Congo!  What would the people of Congo be doing at 4:00?  Playing outside and enjoying the sunshine, we thought!

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Of course, now we were curious about the Republic of the Congo, and had to find out what it was like.... our chosen city (Brazzaville) was surrounded by a savannah!  And Congo has lowland gorillas and hippos!  And chimpanzees and forest elephants!  How very exciting. During lunchtime, we checked the globe... twas suppertime in Congo--just after sunset.

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Any time Maddie thought about it, during the day, it was "Let's check on Congo!"  Afternoon here?  Bedtime in Congo.
Suppertime here?  Middle of the night in Congo.
Finally, it's bedtime..... and look!  The earth is just like this.... and the sun is rising in Congo.


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1. Fold a 1-foot piece of aluminum foil in half. 

2. Lay the foil over the opening of the mason jar and press the edges down to cover it. 

3. Use a pencil to poke a hole about an inch from the side of the mason jar. 

4. Carefully pull off the aluminum foil. Slide your flashlight up into the hole until the switch is just below the foil. Turn on the flashlight and put the foil back on the mason jar. 

5. Angle your flashlight until it shines out the side. Stick a long piece of tape over it to hold it in place. 

6. Put the mason jar on top of a piece of paper, and gently spin the foil around until you find a pattern you like. Trace the pattern. 

Color your drawing with colored pencils or markers to created beautiful abstract artwork!

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Kids are always fascinated by their shadows and, as a parent, it's such a joy to see them interact with themselves. This shadow chalk experiment is a great way for kids to understand how shadows work and also how the sun moves across the sky throughout the day. <br><br>One child is the model while the other child (or parent) traces their shadow as it shifts throughout the day. See what silly shadow poses your child can make!

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All you need for this project is chalk. Can't get any simpler than that! 

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Have your child stand outside at various times of the day to watch their shadow transform.  Make sure their feet are in the same position each time. 

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Try and experiment with different poses for some laughs. Once you find a pose you like, have another person trace the shadow outline with chalk. 

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Repeat this process throughout the day, about every 3 hours. We did this at 9 a.m., 12 p.m., 3 p.m., and 6 p.m. 

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By the end of the day, we had some fun figures happening! The kids loved watching the shadows move and try to guess where it would be the next time we came out. 

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Shadow Chalk Experiment

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Learn about shadows and light! In this project, you’ll put different shapes in a Ziploc® brand sandwich bag and shine a flashlight to stage a shadow puppet scene. What happens to the shadows if you move the light closer or farther from the bag? How do the shadows change when you add or remove shapes? Find out in this science and storytelling project!

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<p>Cut out the stage frame from the printable to make the template. Use a pencil to trace the cut-out <a href="http://icdn.kiwicrate.com/printables/2019_Ziploc_Shadow_Puppets_DIY+Printable+-+Shadow+Stage+Template.pdf" target="_blank">paper template</a> onto the cardboard.</p>

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Use the scissors to cut out the cardboard along the traced lines. Cutslits in the middle of each of the trapezoid-shaped stand pieces (using the dotted lines on the templates as references). The width of the slit should be the thickness of your cardboard.

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Tape the edges of the Ziploc® brand sandwich bag into theframe, then wedge the frame into the stand pieces.

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Cut out the simple shapes from the second printable. Put the shapes in the Ziploc® brand bag.

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In a dim or dark room, set up your puppet theater about two feet from a blank wall. Shine the flashlight toward bag so that it casts a shadow against the wall. Try moving the flashlight closer and farther away from the bag. What happens to the shadows? How big can you make them? How small?

When light shines on something transparent, like glass or a clear Ziploc® brand sandwich bag, the light passes through. But when light shines on opaque materials, like paper, block the light and create a shadow on the other side. The closer the puppet theater is to the flashlight, the bigger the shadows are. That’s because the puppet theater blocks more of the light if it’s closer to the flashlight.

5 awesome shadow activities projects for kids

Screen-free fun!