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Spark & Whetstonethe grown-up commons

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Same Sun, True Size

Three short lessons on the globe your child is learning: why noon comes later as you go west, why a flat map makes Greenland look as big as Africa, and why one side of a mountain is a desert.

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

  1. Lesson 1Noon moves west
  2. Lesson 2The stretched map
  3. Lesson 3The dry side of the mountain
At the table · a grown-up and a child, 6 or older

The orange and the torch

You'll need: an orange, a pen and a torch (or a lamp) in a dim room.

  1. Draw a dot on the orange for your town and another a little to the left (west).
  2. Shine the torch from one side and turn the orange slowly from west to east.
  3. Watch which dot reaches the bright middle first. That is the first to have noon.
  4. Peel the orange and try to lay the peel flat. See what has to tear or stretch.

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