Today December 21, 2014 is the first day of winter also known as winter solstice. But what does that mean? Unfortunately, for all of us busy shoppers in the Northern Hemisphere it means that it is the shortest day of the year. In Houston the sun will set at 5:27 PM! It will be the longest night of the year with the sun rising at 7:13 AM.
Why do the season change?
Earth is tilted on it’s path around the sun. During the winter solstice the south pole receives the most warmth from the sun and for the northern hemisphere receives the least. The opposite is true for the summer solstice. This is why winter is cold and summer is hot. Did you know during winter solstice that the north pole will be in total darkness for 24 hours? That must be a challenge for Santa’s elves as they prepare for Christmas!
(McGraw-Hill)
How to explain this to kids?
I wanted to explain this to Allie, so I found an amazing Seasons Interactive at McGraw-Hill. You can find it here. In this interactive you can watch the earth orbit around the sun (which affects seasons) and spin on it’s own axis (which causes day and night). This interactive even shows you how the temperature changes based on the distance from the sun.
After we played with the Season Interactive, we attempted to make our very own Tinker Toy solar system complete with a battery powered ‘tea-light’ sun. It’s hard to conceptualize outer space, earth’s orbit, and the rotation of the earth around the sun – but it’s a start! The kids enjoyed playing with the tea lights and pretending the Christmas tree lights were stars in outer space!
Welcome winter! We’re ready for the cooler weather here in Texas!
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