
Suitable For
Grade 3
Difficulty
1
Time Required
<1 Hour
Supervision
Advised
What’s it about?
Eclipse means to overshadow something. A ‘solar eclipse’ is caused by the moon blocking light to the earth, while a ‘lunar eclipse’ is caused by the earth blocking light to the moon. In this science experiment, use a plastic ball and a lamp to create a simple ‘solar’ and ‘lunar’ eclipse:
Topics covered
Eclipse
What will I need?
- PLASTIC BALL
- STRING
- STICKY TAPE
- DESK LAMP
Procedure (Method)
Eclipse means to overshadow something. A ‘solar eclipse’ is caused by the moon blocking light to the earth, while a ‘lunar eclipse’ is caused by the earth blocking light to the moon. In this science experiment, use a plastic ball and a lamp to create a simple ‘solar’ and ‘lunar’ eclipse:

- Attach a piece of string about 40cm in length to a plastic ball with some sticky tape.
- In a dark room of your house, use a desk lamp to create a directional light source.
- Face the lamp while holding and suspending the ball from the string in front of your body so that the ball is between you and the lamp.
- The lamp represents the sun and the ball the moon. Your body is the earth. When you are facing the lamp, the ball makes a shadow on your body. This is what happens during a ‘solar eclipse’.
- Observe how the light falls on the ball, turn your body together with the ball and watch how the light on the ball changes. Continue rotating around until you rotated 180 degrees so that your back is to the ‘sun’ and your body, ‘the earth’, blocks light to the ball ‘the moon’. During a ‘lunar eclipse’, the shadow of the Earth makes it seem as if the moon has been covered!