Secrets of the Tides
We're going on an exciting journey to uncover the secret of the tides. Imagine you're at the beach building a beautiful sandcastle. Sometimes the water comes really close to your sandcastle, right? And sometimes it's far away, and you can run out without getting your feet wet. This back-and-forth movement of the water is called 'tides'. And do you know who moves the water back and forth? The moon! When the moon is up in the sky, it pulls the water towards it, creating a high tide - the water comes closer to the beach. But while the moon pulls the water in one place, the water has to recede in another place. This is called low tide, and then the water is far away from the beach. Explore it yourself!
What you'll need
- Stick
How it works
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Let's stick a long stick in the sand or draw a line where the water is right now. We'll see how the water moves. Is it closer or further away later?
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You can also play a fun game. The Moon Game. One of you can be the 'moon' and the others can be the 'water'. When the 'moon' calls 'high tide', the 'water' runs towards it. When the moon calls 'low tide', the 'water' runs away from it.
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Find a large, open area in the sand where the water won't reach at high tide. With a stick, you can draw a big picture of the moon. Then draw waves that point away from the moon and towards it. When is low tide and when is high tide?
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So that's the secret of the tides. The moon plays with the water at the beach, creating high and low tides.
What kids learn from this
- Imagination & social connection
