EARTH’S ROTATION DAY

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Earth takes one year (or more precisely 365.25 days) to complete a revolution around the Sun. The .25 extra is why we have a Leap Year

Earth rotates (spins) on its axis once every 24 hours which causes day and night. The vocabulary revolution, orbit, and revolve are used to describe Earth revolving around the Sun once every year. The vocabulary rotation, rotate, and spin are used to describe Earth rotating on its axis once every day.

Today we celebrate the demonstration by the French physicist Leon Foucault in 1851 that the Earth ROTATES on an axis!

It is very common to get Rotation and Revolution confused.

You can celebrate Earth’s Rotation Day by:

• Visiting a space and science Museum; some even have a working Foucault’s Pendulum on display. Even if they do not, the museum will offer plenty to learn!
• Research more about earth and space at the library or using books you may have on hand.
• Creating a homemade sundial with a paper plate, playdough, and a pencil. Take your sundial outside and make North. Use a compass or an app on your phone. Put the plate in a sunny location. Mark the shadow once every hour. You should begin to notice a pattern. The distance between the shadows is the same each hour. When you run out of daylight you will notice the lines do not completely circle the plate. This is because for 12 of our 24 hours we are in darkness. The earth is ROTATING and we are turned away from the sun.
• Understand the difference between Rotation and Revolution – Join Earth and Sun as they Narrate the Educational Video in the Happy Hive Homeschooling Video included in the Seasons Lapbook Project available in the Happy Hive Shop.

These are a few things that can help:

Can’t celebrate this year – Mark your calendar & save this holiday for next year!

You can also pin the image below to your Pinterest boards to save this fantastic holiday!

Return to main calendar HERE