Kids love their shadows, love to chase shadows, and love to make shadows do silly things! There are also some fun things to learn about shadows too for science and STEM! With Groundhogs Day approaching, I thought it would be fun to make simple animal shadow puppets and enjoy a fun shadow activity!

Explore Shadows For Science

Shadow animal puppets are a fun theme for both Groundhogs Day as well as the rest of the year! You would assume that all animals have some sort of shadow not just the groundhog! I bet he didn’t know his shadow or lack of was all due to simple physics!

What’s your best guess, will the groundhog see his shadow this year? Is your shadow forecast different from where Punxsutawney Phil lives? He is hanging out in Pennsylvania. Read more about the groundhog and his shadow.

ALSO CHECK OUT: Groundhog Day STEM Activities

Why Science Is Important For Kids

Kids are curious and always looking to explore, discover, check out, and experiment to find out why things do what they do, move like they move, or change as they change! Indoors or outdoors, science is amazing!

Science surrounds us, inside and out. Kids love checking things out with magnifying glasses, creating chemical reactions with kitchen ingredients, and of course exploring stored energy! Check out 50 awesome science projects to get started.

There lots of easy science concepts that you can introduce kids to very early on! You might not even think about science when your toddler pushes a card down a ramp, plays in front of the mirror, laughs at your shadow puppets, or bounces balls over and over again.

See where I am going with this list! What else can you add if you stop to think about it? Science starts early, and you can be a part of that with setting up science at home with everyday materials.

Or you can bring easy science to a group of kids! We find a ton of value in cheap science activities and experiments. Check out our helpful science resources below.

Helpful Science Resources To Get Your Started

Here are a few resources to help you introduce science more effectively to your kiddos or students and feel confident when presenting materials. You’ll find helpful free printables throughout.

What Is A Shadow?

Many objects make shadows, including our bodies or these printable shadow puppets! Since light cannot pass through a shadow puppet, it creates a shadow. A shadow is simply a dark area which is made by an object coming between rays of light and the surface.

Outside, the sun is our light to make shadows. If you are indoors, you can use a flashlight as the source of light to create shadows.

You will notice at different times of the day; shadows are different. Longer, shorter, or no shadow at all. So the size of the shadow depends on the angle of the light shining.

Can you find other things outside and inside that have shadows? What happens if light can pass through an object; is there still a shadow?

A sundial is another fun activity for exploring shadows and a great extension to this shadow activity below! See how to make a sundial from a paper plate!

Click below to get your printable shadow puppet templates 

How To Make Animal Shadow Puppets

We used regular copy paper, but you can print them on card stock or laminate them! Maybe you can pair a few with a favorite book, too.

Supplies:

Shadow Science Physics Activity Supplies Free Printable AnimalsPin

Instructions:

STEP 1. Cut out your animal shadow puppets.

STEP 2. Once you have each animal cut out, flip it over, and attach a straw (or whatever else you have available) with a piece of tape! That’s it! You are ready to explore your shadow science activity!

Shadow Science Physics Activity with Paper Animal PuppetsPin

STEP 3. For this simple shadow science activity, you are going to need a nice beam of sunlight. Or are you? If it’s suitable, have your kids figure out where the best shadows are going to be located in the house or classroom by experimenting and testing!

Shadow Science Physics Activity Simple Kids Science and STEM and Groundhogs Day Science ActivityPin

Another fun idea is to check around the house or classroom at different times of the day? Is the light in different areas at different times.

Can you find a way to make a shadow without light (hint: flashlight). There are so many great questions to ask your kids to spark a little creative thinking.

Playful Shadow Science Physics ActivityPin

Your kids will love how playful this shadow science physics activity is to use! For a craft twist, have your kids design their own animals to use. Or you can cut out and trace around our animals for them to color!

Simple Shadow Science Physics ActivityPin

More Fun Ways To Explore Shadows

Printable Groundhog Day Activities Pack

Perfect for grades K-3 or as needed! Easy to use in the classroom or at home with inexpensive, hands-on, doable projects!

  • 8+ Groundhog Day activities and projects for kids that are easy to set up and fit into your available time, even if it’s limited! A fun theme for mid-winter science and STEM exploration that kids love!
  • Printable Groundhog theme STEM challenges that are simple but engaging for home or classroom. Perfect for K-2 and beyond and adaptable to many skill levels.
  • Simple light theme science explanations and activities include fun activities, experiments, projects, and simple vocabulary cards. Print and make animal silhouette puppets to explore shadows!
  • Easy to gather supplies makes these STEM activities ideal when you have limited resources available. Perfect for kids in the classroom or for family time at home.
  • Build a burrow STEM pack is a fun way to explore the groundhog’s den and create one of your own.
  • BONUS: Fun pack with How To Draw a Groundhog, word search, quick facts, and more fun activities.
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