Shadow Experiments and Activities for Kids

Long, sunny summer days are a great time to experiment with shadows. I've put together a fun list of shadow activity ideas with ( hopefully ) something to appeal to kids of all ages.

I use chalk pens for drawing shadows as they are a bit less messy than normal chalk and last a long time.

What is a shadow?

For a shadow to be formed, an object must block light. The object must be opaque or translucent to make a shadow. A transparent object will not make any shadow, as light passes straight through transparent objects.

Transparent Materials

Transparent materials let light pass through them in straight lines so that you can see clearly through them.

Translucent Materials

Translucent materials let some light through but scatter the light in different directions. We can not see clearly through translucent materials.

Opaque Materials

Opaque materials do not let any light pass through them.

Shadow Experiments for Kids

Shadow Frame

Make a shadow frame using cardboard and contact paper. These are great for experimenting with different shapes and types of materials. Try translucent and opaque materials to investigate how the colour of the shadow changes.

Draw Shadows

Use building blocks to make shapes you can draw around. Children can think about how the shadow changes when the object is rotated and observe shadows at different times of the day.

3D shapes are fun to draw around too!

I love how Rhythms of Play painted inside their shadows! Another idea is to draw around a person's shadow and then add organs or a skeleton inside.

Sundial Experiment

Rhythms of Play also has a fantastic human sundial experiment. You can use the same idea to make a smaller version using a LEGO tower on white paper.

Another idea similar to making a sundial is to follow a shadow through the day, watching how the size and shape of a shadow formed by the same object changes!

Plastic giraffe stood on a patio stone. Different coloured chalk pens have been used to draw the shadow of the giraffe at different points through the day.

Shadow Puppet Theatre

Build a shadow puppet theatre like Inner Child Fun. This would be great for linking shadows to literacy work.

Shadow Experiments - Shadow People

Try building people or animals with pipe cleaners. It was quite a challenge to get ours to stand up. Kids can experiment with different sizes and shapes of shadow people.

pipe cleaner made into the shape of a stick man for an activity for learning about shadows

Shadow Experiments - Shadow Sculptures

The Artful Parent has some brilliant shadow sculptures. It could be quite fun to use the same idea but make models of chemical molecules and draw the shadows too.

Shadow Puppets

Childhood 101 has some brilliant Star Wars shadow puppets.

We love these Gruffalo's Child shadow puppets too.

You could also try some Christmas or other holiday-themed shadow puppets. We made a big Christmas tree shadow puppet and then smaller puppets for the decorations.

More Shadow Experiments

Try experimenting with shadows at different times of the day. You should find that the Sun makes the longest shadows at the beginning and end of the day when the Sun is lowest in the sky and the shortest shadows at midday when it's highest in the sky.

Suitable for Early Years Foundation Stage

Suitable for Key Stage 2 Science

Light

Can you think of any more shadow activities for us?