Long and Short Shadows

Lab Brief #10

🎯 Your mission

Run the experiment. Find out what really happens.

⚡ The twist

Nature loves to surprise the careful watcher.

What you'll learn

A shadow is longest in the morning and evening and shortest at noon.

Key words · 1 of 2

morning
The early part of the day after the Sun rises.
evening
The time of day when the sun sets and it gets dark.

Key words · 2 of 2

shadow
A dark shape made when an object blocks the light.

Make a hypothesis first

Before you start: write down what you think will happen, and why.

Say your guess out loud — then find out if you were right.

Get ready

🧰 What you need

flashlight

⚠️ Safety first

Have an adult check your set-up before you start, and tidy everything away afterwards.

Step 1 of 4 · Read

Say the vocabulary words out loud. Can you repeat them?

Step 2 of 4 · Do

Use a flashlight to make shadows on the wall. Move the light—what happens?

Step 3 of 4 · Observe

Use your eyes, ears, and hands to explore. What do you notice?

Step 4 of 4 · Record

Color a picture to show what happened.

Question 1 of 2

Do shadows come out when it's sunny?

Question 2 of 2

What makes shadows?

Mind = blown

🔬 The more you look, the more nature shows you.

Nice work!

You got 0 of 2 right.

Next: The Sun Rises!All lessons

🎯

Next Smart Experiment

We'll pick an experiment that matches exactly how you're thinking right now.

✨ More to explore

🌍 Where you see this in real life: This shows up in your everyday life more than you'd think.

🏆 Stretch challenge (try it this week): Try one experiment in real life this week — even a tiny one.

👨‍👩‍👧 For the dinner table: “What's the most surprising thing you learned today?”

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