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Finding Your Way by the Stars

Three short lessons on the oldest navigation: the star that stays put, measuring its height with your hand or a card on a string, and reading your latitude from the noon Sun.

For grown-ups, from what SextantForge teaches children at Spark & Anvil.

  1. Lesson 1The star that stays
  2. Lesson 2Measure with your hand
  3. Lesson 3The noon Sun
At the table · a grown-up and a child, 8 or older, on a clear night

Make a kamal

You'll need: a piece of card about 5 by 8 cm, a metre of string, and a dark, clear sky.

  1. Make a small hole in the middle of the card and tie the string through it.
  2. Find Polaris: follow the two stars at the end of the Big Dipper's bowl upwards.
  3. Hold the string's end to your chin and slide the card out until its bottom touches the horizon and its top touches Polaris.
  4. Tie a knot where the string meets your chin. That knot is your home's latitude; check it on a map.

Print the guidebook (all lessons + the table activity) →