[EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > > I am a landscape architect and am working on the design for a children's > discovery garden in New Orleans. We would like to design an 'interactive' > horizontal sundial. This means that a person acts as the gnomen. I have > heard that they exist in other children's gardens, but have been unable to > locate information or articles on design and construction. Do you have any > such articles? > > I would like this to be an exciting and unique sun/time experience. Do you > have an information on projects(sun dials) which are unusual? fun? fanciful? > colorful? > > Sincerely, > > Edward W. Trapolin > Design Consortium, Ltd. > New Orleans, LA > [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Dear Edward Trapolin, I know of 2 principles for an horizontal sundial in which a child can act as shadow casting device. The first is the analemmatic sundial. The second is an ordinary horizontal sundial. An analemmatic sundial has hourpoints in the form of an ellipse. In the middle is a scale for the date. The child places itself on the right date and its shadow points into the direction where the dial has to be read. The hourpoints can be made in such a way that a child can jump on it from point to point or so. The other layout is a ordinary horizontal sundial with hour lines but without any style. Instead of that on the north south line a scale in placed with the length of a child. This scale is made in such a way that if a child places itself on his or her length mark the childs head is just on the place where the pole style should have been if that style was present. The shadow of the childs head than is used to read the time. On the horizontal sundial also other blocks can be placed. The hourlines runs over these blocks what gives a nice effect. The blocks can be used by the children in their play. You see, ther are many possibilities. If wanted also a point can be realized where a child can measure its length and then use the sundial to find out the time. Then a child has to do 2 things. By using colorful materials you can make the dial attractive for children. It is very easy to calculate an analemmatic sundial or an ordinary horizontal sundial. In many books you find the formulas for it. If necessary I wll give them to you but I advice to try to find them yourself. It is more fun if you find out the things yourself. Let us know if you are going on with this project. It is interesting to us all. (By the way, your spelling of gnomen has to be gnomon. Not e but o. The science of sundials is named gnomonica. Some time ago I also saw the spelling gnomen. I don't hope this will be the usual spelling in future.) Fer J. de Vries. Netherlands.
