Track the Phases of the Moon with this DIY apparatus

Dear Young Explorers! Did you catch a glimpse of the New Moon on April 12, 2021?

For years, observing the night sky has been one of the most fascinating activities for people. It really makes us wonder how vast the sky is and whether the Earth is really just a ‘speck of dot’ amidst the vastness of the universe. Each night, the sky puts up a  new show – be it the New Moon or the Super Moon and Pink Moon, accompanied by the twinkling stars – they make special appearances on and off to see how the Earthlings are doing!

But have you ever thought how the same moon appears different each day? Why at times, it turns pink and other times, it turns soft white? Is there a way to witness all the phases of the moon at one go?

Photo Credit: Giphy

Well, there certainly is and it’s in the form of a simple DIY! We assure you that it is one of the coolest DIYs, and hands down, the easiest one. So let’s get started together.

Image Source: NASA/Bill Dunford

For this project, you will need:

Let’s Get Started!

• Take one of the plastic cups and the black paper.
• Measure the height of the plastic cup. Cut a rectangular piece of the black paper with the height of the plastic cup as the length of the paper.

• Take the yellow circle and paste it in the centre of the black paper with the help of glue.

• Now roll the black paper with the yellow circle facing out and insert it in the plastic cup. Make sure that the black paper doesn’t cover the yellow circle.

•  Secure the black paper into the cup using a sellotape. Your plastic cup should look like this:

• Now put this plastic cup, the black paper, and yellow circle into the second plastic cup.

Once you have reached this stage, bring out your black permanent marker pen and start off with the drawing part.

• Start off by locating the yellow circle and write FULL MOON below the circle on the outside cup

Now imagine the cup as a clock with your FULL MOON at the 12 o’clock position. Slowly rotate the cup so that the yellow circle is now in the 3 o’clock position.

• Trace the outline of the left half of the yellow circle and fill in with the black marker. Your moon will appear half covered with the right half appearing as a HALF MOON or the FIRST QUARTER MOON. Write the name below, just like you did for FULL MOON.
• Now turn the cup so that the yellow circle is at 6 o’clock. Using the marker, trace the outline of the yellow circle and fill it completely. The yellow circle will be covered and will appear like a NEW MOON. Write the name below.

• Turn the cup so that the circle is now at the 9 o’clock position. Trace the outline of the right half of the yellow circle and fill in with the marker. The right side of the circle will be covered with the left half appearing as a HALF MOON or the THIRD QUARTER MOON. Write the name below.
• Now turn the cup so that the yellow circle is now in the 1.30 clock position. Trace a crescent on the left of the yellow circle and fill in with the black marker. The right uncovered side of the circle will appear as the WAXING GIBBOUS MOON. Write the name below.

• Then turn the cup positioning the yellow circle at 4:30. Trace a gibbous (less than the full circle, but larger than the semicircle shape) on the left of the yellow circle and fill in with the black marker. The right uncovered part of the yellow circle will appear as the WAXING CRESCENT MOON. Write the name below.
• Turn the cup such that the yellow circle is at 7:30. Using the marker, trace a gibbous (less than the full circle, but larger than the semicircle shape) on the right side of the yellow circle and fill it up. That’s  WANING CRESCENT MOON, write the name below it.
• Lastly, turn your cup positioning the yellow circle at 10:30. Trace a crescent on the right of the yellow circle and fill in with the black marker. The left uncovered part appears as a WANING GIBBOUS MOON. Name it below the artwork.

Voila! Your DIY model is complete! Now it’s time to twist and witness the magic.

Do try this activity at home and let us know in the comments below.

Try out these fun DIY activities:

Make your own Water Wheel

Marble Maze: A Box of Learning and Fun

Underwater Volcano