For my artifact project I chose a sundial, the earliest time-telling device invented. Traditional sundials are made from limestone, but as I do not posses any limestone I used cardboard and acrylic paint with pen. The reason I chose acrylic paint is because of its fast-drying nature, and cardboard because of how easy it is to cut. Since sundials commonly have images or scenes depicted on them, I chose to depict a sun in an abstracted version of the sky. I chose a sun because it directly relates to a sundial being a sun-powered clock. Using colour theory I chose the colour scheme blue and yellow/orange as they are complementary colours. I drew stars and constellations on my gnomon (upright triangle piece) because they relate again to the sun and the solar system. For the roman numerals I used a black marker to make sure they stood out from the rest of the dial and were easy to read. Unfortunately I did not realize how smudge-prone the marker was. For my museum card I made sure to link it visually with my sundial by using similar colour (yellow) and attaching yellow stars (also depicted on the sundial). Overall I am happy with the sundial I created. I set aside 5 hours to make it, and didn’t feel too rushed during the process. I made a sketch of how I wanted to design my sundial which helped me feel prepared and well researched. I would give myself a 13/15.

Sources:

“Sundial | Definition, History, Types, & Facts.” Encyclopedia Britannica, www.britannica.com/technology/sundial. Accessed 10 Nov. 2021.

Unknown. “How Do Sundials Work? – Yale Scientific Magazine.” Yale Scientific, Yale Scientific, 22 Nov. 2008, www.yalescientific.org/2008/11/how-do-sundials-work.

Andersen, Paul. “How Do Sundials Work?” The Wonder of Science, 3 May 2018, thewonderofscience.com/phenomenon/2018/5/3/how-do-sundials-work.

Lienhard, John. “No. 993: Sundials.” Engines of Our Ingenuity, www.uh.edu/engines/epi993.htm. Accessed 10 Nov. 2021.