This guide to making wooden sundials gently leads beginning diallists into sundial lore and construction. Novice craftsmen who can wield a saw, wood-burning pen, matte knife, sandpaper and a few other simple tools can make five different kinds of sundials; plans are flexible and allow for embellishment, alteration, variety of materials. Precalculated templates can be removed from the book and carbon-paper-transferred to wood.

Presents step-by-step instructions for making a sundial which will illustrate concepts regarding the interrelation of the sun, the earth's rotation, and time.

A rigorous appraisal of sundial science includes mathematical treatment and pertinent astronomical background, plus a nontechnical treatment so simple that several of the dials can be built by children. 106 illustrations.

Cooper has the clever idea of making his mom pancakes for her birthday, and his friend the moose offers to help. The moose claims he's the best chef in Alaska, but is he really? Find out if Cooper's mom is happy about the surprise awaiting her in the kitchen!

Sundials, which decorate church walls, public plazas, and elegant gardens, are first and foremost astronomical instruments. Before understanding how sundials work, one must first understand the apparent motion of the Sun in the sky. In this book, Denis Savoie presents the basics of astronomy required to understand sundials and describes how to design and build your own classical sundial. Written for all levels of science readers, the author shows the calculations involved in the sundial’s construction and also gives a comprehensive history of time measurement. The practical and observational aspects of sundials will enable readers to create custom-made sundial of their own, adding whatever special features they wish to include. Most of these designs have been tested by people with no previous knowledge of astronomy. To aid the reader, the book is full of clear and instructive illustrations and diagrams.

Clear and accessible introduction to the concept of time examines measurement, historic timekeeping methods, uses of time information, role of time in science and technology, and much more. Over 300 illustrations.

More than two dozen traditional and original models of the wind-powered toys known as whirligigs appear in this how-to manual. Easy-to-follow instructions, detailed illustrations.

Latitude Hooks and Azimuth Rings is for people who like to work with their hands and who appreciate traditional nautical craftsmanship. You don't have to be the master of any craft to undertake any of these projects--from a simple kamal or latitude hook to the more complex pelorus or octant--just a careful and enthusiastic worker. These 18 projects fall roughly into three categories: decorative, useful, and somewhere in between. Some, such as the astrolabe, are mainly for display. On the other hand, the sounding line is an important and practical tool for small-craft navigation, particularly in the absence of an electronic sounder. The cross-staff falls somewhere in between, equally at home in the den or the ditch kit. Each of the devices discussed here--with simple, proven building instructions complemented by clear illustrations--has at one time or another been used for the practical business of navigation, and each is worth reviving for its beauty, historic value, or sheer usefulness. Dennis Fisher has designed these projects with an emphasis on simplicity and reasonable cost. Everything can be scratch-built using easily obtainable materials and tools, and each is true to the spirit and function of the original instrument.

"Clock time", with all its benefits and anxieties, is often viewed as a "modern" phenomenon, but ancient Mediterranean and Near Eastern cultures also had tools for marking and measuring time within the day and wrestled with challenges of daily time management. This book brings together for the first time perspectives on the interplay between short-term timekeeping technologies and their social contexts in ancient Egypt, Babylon, Greece, and Rome. Its contributions denaturalize modern-day concepts of clocks, hours, and temporal frameworks; describe some of the timekeeping solutions used in antiquity; and illuminate the diverse factors that affected how individuals and communities structured their time.