• The person who is the sun gets the flashlight. The flashlight is going to give off the light we need to light up parts of the moon.
• The person who is the Earth gets the moon we just made. They are going to be the one who sees the different phases of the moon.
• Make sure to switch so that each person has a chance to be both the sun and the Earth.

The person who is the sun picks a spot to stand to shine the light. You do not move during this experiment. Your job is to keep the light on the moon at all times. Do not shine the light in the other person's eyes.

The person who is the Earth is going to hold the moon out in front of them.

You start by facing the sun with the moon in between the two of you. Notice that the part of the moon that you are looking at is not lit up. This is the new moon.

Now, start to move to your left. As the moon starts to light up, you will see the crescent moon.

When your shoulder is facing the sun, half of the moon should be lit up. This is the quarter moon.

Continue to turn. You will notice that more of the moon is lit up. This is the gibbous moon.

When your back is facing the sun, the whole moon should be lit up. This is the full moon. (The person who is the Earth may have to duck down a little bit so that the sun can shine its light on the moon.)

What you have seen so far is a waxing moon.

As you keep turning, the area of the moon that is lit up will get smaller and smaller. This is called a waning moon.

When you keep turning, you will notice the same phases as before, except they are on the other side of the moon. Also, in the first part of the experiment, you went from a new moon to a full moon, and now you are doing the opposite: going from a full moon to a new moon.

Once you are at a new moon again, switch places so both of you can see the different phases of the moon.

Back to the Phases of the Moon page.