Skip to main content

Main menu

  • Playground
  • Surfacing
  • Parks
  • Athletics
  • Aquatics
  • Play
Home
  • Playground
  • Surfacing
  • Parks
  • Athletics
  • Aquatics
  • Play
  • What You Need To Know About Curb Ramps
  • Combating Childhood Obesity
  • 9 Things You No Longer See on Playgrounds
  • Benefits of Nature Play
  • Train Themed Playground
  • The World is a Kiwanis Playground

Breadcrumb

  1. Home
  2. Play
  3. Parenting
  4. The Time is Now

The Time is Now

Parenting
January 01, 2002
Profile picture for user Playground Magazine
By Playground Magazine on
  • facebook-f
  • twitter
  • envelope
  • print
606

Sundial Project Brings Community Closer Together

The time is now. At least that is what Michael Orelove finally said about an idea that was generated 20 years ago during a visit to Seattle.

While on a visit to Seattle, Orelove came across a sundial that was located on the ground and used a person as the gnomon. Therefore, the person's own shadow is read and the time can be found from that.

Orelove was impressed with the idea and thought that the same thing could be done in his hometown of Juneau, Alaska. However, time moved on and he did little about his sundial project.

But after his niece, Eden Orelove did a science project on sundials, he was motivated to put the project in motion.

"I contacted my niece who had done a science project a few years earlier on sundials," Orelove said. "After talking with her, we contacted the mayor and then started the project."

The Oreloves involved the mayor, and other civic organizations, to make the project a reality. With the support of the mayor, a proper location for the sundial was found.

"We placed the sundial in an area right downtown by the docks," Orelove said. "There is a nice big plaza there that had enough room and was centrally located. My niece and I went to the mayor and she gave us permission. After that, we began contacting the local organizations and started the project."

But it was the involvement of the various community organizations that may have been what made the project so successful. There were many ideas given as to how the project should be done, but when it came down to it, Orelove wanted to get something done that was positive without being expensive.

 

"People suggested that we do it as a fundraiser, but we wanted to give non-profit organizations in the city a chance to be a part of it without having to pay," Orelove said. "We supplied the paint and the different organizations each painted a number. Each number is different. They could paint it however they wanted."

And the numbers ended up as different as the organizations that painted them. However, each number told a story about the community. Clowns from the Juneau Joeys Clown Alley 11310 painted the "6" on the dial with a clown's smiling face. The members of the community's 4-H club designed the "4" with the organization's colors of green and white. There was even a number painted by Orelove that recognized the efforts of all local volunteers.

" It gives a number of community organizations a chance to work together," Orelove said of the project. "We were able to work together to create a piece of art that happens to be a sundial that can be used and is fun."

But before the painting could be done on the numbers, there was some initial work that needed to be done. The layout of the sundial needed to be calculated, and for this Orelove turned to the services of Douglas Hunt of Modern Sunclocks. Modern Sunclocks is a Scotland based company that uses a computer program to create a grid that shows where to paint each line based on your specific latitude and longitude. The grid is figured to the nearest one-hundredth of a degree and adjusts the grid to take into account where your city is located within the time zone. This allows the human sundial to tell the accurate "clock time." The resulting grid was double checked in Juneau to assure accuracy.

The sundial must be laid out in reference to a true north/south line. The Juneau Community Sundial project organizers used three different methods to find the true north/south line for the project. First, Erik Kellogg used calculations from the Nautical Almanac and a shadow cast by a string to determine the true north/south line. Second, Tim Moore, another local volunteer, used a high-quality compass to determine a true north/south line. Third, Carl Ferlauto used a theodolite, a surveying instrument, to determine the sun's highest point. When the sun is at its highest point it is located due south from where the person is measuring.

All three of these methods found the same true north/south line and the grid was prepared.

A full-size model of the sundial was created of plastic indoors and brought to the site on a sunny day. More volunteers, this time from the local planetarium, laid out the hour coordinates on the sidewalk according to the north/south line that was previously established.

From there, the hour coordinates were painted and the Juneau Community Sundial was opened after an official installation ceremony held at noon on the day of the summer solstice, June 20, 2001.

From that time on, the sundial has been an entertaining and visually stimulating part of the downtown area. Orelove enjoys walking downtown and just watching people use the sundial.

"It's been received very well," he said. "I sometimes go down there and just watch people's reaction to it. I Some people ignore it and others look at it like they're trying to figure out what it is. A lot of people will stop and use it, check with their watch and smile. You'll see parents using it to teach their kids how it works."

Orelove believes that a community sundial would be a welcome addition to any city or school playground.

"The project is good for schools and communities because it's educational and fun at the same time," he said. "There are opportunities to discuss a variety of things with a sundial that you use your own shadow to tell the time. For example, you can talk about why the shadow is longer in the winter and shorter in the summer. There is some astronomy."

Add new comment

The content of this field is kept private and will not be shown publicly.
About text formats

Plain text

  • No HTML tags allowed.
  • Web page addresses and email addresses turn into links automatically.
  • Lines and paragraphs break automatically.
Profile picture for user Playground Magazine
Playground Magazine
Published 21 years ago
Last updated 6 months ago
606
3
min read
A- A+
  • facebook-f
  • twitter
  • envelope
  • print

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter

More About Parenting

Dec 04, 2018
Parenting

4 Ways to Have a Successful Trip Abroad with Children

Kacey Mya
6 Physical Activities For Kids That You Can Do As A Family
Dec 28, 2021
Parenting

6 Physical Activities For Kids That You Can Do As A Family

Inna Atwood
Dec 18, 2013
Parenting

Who's Talking About Play?

Playground Magazine
Bedroom Furniture Every Child Should Have
Apr 19, 2022
Parenting

Bedroom Furniture Every Child Should Have

PGP
Feb 01, 2004
Parenting

Our Big Problems with Kids

Playground Magazine
4 Santa-Approved Ways Kids Can Give Back During the Holidays
Dec 09, 2021
Parenting

4 Santa-Approved Ways Kids Can Give Back During the Holidays

PGP
Oct 30, 2013
Parenting

Fran Wallach's Induction into the NRPA's Robert W. Crawford Hall of Fame

Peggy Payne
Meitiv Family - free-range advocates
May 04, 2015
Parenting

Time to Take a Stand

Jay-Beckwith
Mother and daughter preparing avocado toast
Jun 16, 2020
Parenting

5 Lessons Learned From Quarantine We Can Teach Our Children

Nina Simons
Boy with hands over face.
May 07, 2019
Parenting

4 Ways to Ease Anxiety for Your Child in Speech Therapy

Tilda Moore
Family camping in a tent
Nov 17, 2020
Parenting

5 Reasons Why You Should Take Your Kids Camping

David Gray
annie-spratt-unsplash
Sep 03, 2019
Parenting

Playground Safety for Your Child With Special Needs

Kacey Mya

Parenting Professionals

There are currently no professionals listed here.
Home

Follow Us

Play and playground news and information since 2001

  • instagram
  • facebook-f
  • twitter
  • pinterest
  • linkedin

Company

  • Playground Magazine
  • Contributors
  • Advertise
  • Subscribe

Copyright © 2001 - 2023 Playground Professionals, LLC

Footer menu

  • Contact
  • Privacy
  • Terms and conditions