Seasons

Discover why seasons change! Learn about Earth's tilt, orbit, and how hemispheres experience opposite seasons. Fun science for kids!

Seasons Watch the video. Then do the activities below. Use the following words to fill in the blanks for the paragraphs below: WINTER - TOWARD - NORTHERN - DEGREES - SUMMER - EQUATOR - GRADUAL - DARK - OPPOSITE - TEMPERATURES The earth orbits around the sun, spinning on its axis.The axis of the spin is tilted about 23.5 degrees in relation to the orbit. This tilt makes the seasons change. Without a tilt in the Earth's axis, the temperature would stay the same year round.When the North Pole is tilted toward the sun, the days are longer and hotter in the Northern Hemisphere. In other words, it's summer. Meanwhile, sunlight is hitting the Southern Hemisphere at an angle. The days are shorter and colder, and it's winter there. Thus, the seasons in the Southern Hemisphere are always opposite of the Northern Hemisphere.Tropical places are located close to the equator, the border of the Northern and Southern hemispheres. The tropics get about the same amount of sunlight all year round, so the seasons there do not change much. At the poles, there is no gradual change of seasons; it goes from summer to winter or winter to summer without a fall or a spring. Summer on the Arctic circle means that there is light out even when you sleep. In winter the Arctic circle is dark all day long. Which Season is Which? Drag each item to the season that it is a part of. (based on what we experience here in the Northern Hemisphere.) Spring Receive nearly equal daylight Starts near March 20th Transition between winter and summer Winter We experience indirect sunlight. Days are shortest. Starts near December 20th Summer Days are longest We experience direct sunlight Starts near June 20th Fall Autumnal Equinox occurs Receive nearly equal darkness Transition between summer and winter Why do globes lean sideways? to allow them to spin better to demonstrate the tilt of the Earth's axis to demonstrate the passing of the seasons to demonstrate the Earth's gravity What causes the Earth's seasons to change? Earth's distance from the sun The warming and cooling of the Earth's core Global warming The Earth's tilt in relation to the rays of the sun What season occurs in Maine when the Earth's axis is tilted away from the sun? Spring Summer Fall Winter What happens when it is spring in the Southern Hemisphere? It is fall in the Northern Hemisphere It is winter in the Northern Hemisphere It is spring in the Northern Hemisphere It is summer in the Northern Hemisphere Explain how are winters in the Northern Hemisphere different from winters in the Southern Hemisphere?