Play the Shadow Cave game with your child. Can you make big and small shadows to match an outline on a dark cave wall?
5–15 minutes
Get Ready
Materials you will need:
- Shadow Cave digital game on an iPad
- Flashlight
Things to do before the activity:
- Play Shadow Cave on your own before playing with your child. Notice that the game gets more challenging as you go through the 12 levels.
- Levels 1–2. Move an object closer to and farther from the light to change the size of a shadow.
- Levels 3–5, 7. Use different shapes (triangles, squares, rectangles) to build an object. Make the object’s shadow big or small enough to fill an outline on the cave wall.
- Levels 8, 10–11. Use more shapes (triangles, squares, rectangles, circles, semicircles, parallelograms) to build an object. Make the object’s shadow fill the outline on the wall.
- Levels 6, 9, 12. Use the shapes (triangles, squares, rectangles, circles, semicircles, parallelograms) to build your own big or small object. Draw details on your shadow.
A character with a speech bubble and bat with a thought bubble.
We can combine shapes to make cool objects!
And move it closer to the light to make shadows bigger!
Explore!
Step 1.
Before you play the game, shine a flashlight on your child’s hand to make a shadow on the wall or floor. Point out that her or his hand is blocking the light and creating a shadow on the surface. Have your child move her or his hand closer to the light. What happens to the shadow? Try moving it farther from the light. What happens to the shadow now?
Step 2.
Play the game. Tap the green play button. Listen to Nor introduce the game. Find the flashlight and tap on it. What happened? Point out how the object blocked the light and a shadow appeared on the wall. Notice where the light hits the object. The shadow appears on the wall on the opposite side of where the light hits the object.
Tap the purple arrows. Notice what happens to the shadow. Why did the shadow get bigger? Why did it get smaller? Make the shadow fill the outline on the wall. When you are ready, tap the blue “bat” button. Look! Ellie the bat drew a picture on the shadow! What does the shadow look like now? Tap the green arrow to continue.
Step 3.
Discuss available materials: Levels 3–12. Tap on the backpack. What is in the backpack? Name the shapes you have to work with when building the object.
Step 4.
Build the object. Drag one shape at a time over to the outline. Each shape should fill a part of the outline.
Step 5.
Check your object. Tap the green arrow button when you are ready to test your object design. If the object does not fill the whole outline, Nor will help you fix it.
Step 6.
Change the shadow size. Look at the shadow. Is it bigger or smaller than the outline? Tap on the purple arrows to change the size of the shadow. How will you make the shadow (smaller/bigger)? Tap the blue bat button. If the shadow fills the outline on the wall, Ellie the bat will bring you a surprise! If the shadow does not match the outline, Nor will help you fix it.
Step 7.
Make your own object: Levels 6, 9, and 12. Be creative! Drag shapes to create your own object. Tap the purple arrows to make your shadow as big or small as you like. Tap the bat button. Use the chalk to draw your own shadow surprise! What does your shadow look like now?
Helpful Tips
With your child, explore outdoor shadows. For example:
- Point out how the sun is a light source that creates outdoor shadows. Look for different objects blocking the sunlight, such as buildings, cars, buses, bikes, children, and so on.
- Play a game of Simon Says with your child. Take turns: one person calls out instructions for making a shadow (such as “Simon says make your shadow jump!”), and the other person makes the shadow.
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