Activities for Children

The Clockmakers' Museum looks as though it may be just for adults but really it is not! The museum tells the story of how London clockmakers have over the centuries helped sailors to navigate their ships, map makers to make maps, merchants to trade, climbers to climb and soldiers to win wars. Use this treasure hunt to find some of our amazing and beautiful objects within the gallery on your next visit.

Use this template to trace the layout of a clock face, or dial. Use a pencil to mark the positions of the hours, and then draw your own numbers over the top. Have you ever tried drawing Roman numerals? Many old clocks and watches used these numbers. Have fun designing your own 'spandrels'- the corners of the dial. Some old clocks put angels in these areas, or pretty flowers. Have fun creating some fancy hands. If you cut these out separately and use a paper fastener to secure them to the dial, you'll be able to tell the time!

Hourglasses have been in use for around 1,000 years to measure smaller amounts of time. They were used for measuring speed at sea, scientific experiments, and for boiling eggs in the kitchen! These days people generally use stopwatches and mobile phones although you might still find one in a board-game. This pdf tutorial will show you how to make one using salt or sand and stuff found in the recycling bin.

Sundials are the earliest form of timekeepers, and tell the time using the Earth’s rotation and the apparent movement of the sun in the sky. Use this template to build your own sundial at home, which will work anywhere on Earth with the same latitude as England, and so long as the sun is shining! You can even shine a torch on the sundial to watch how the shadow creeps around the dial, just like the hands of a clock. To make this dial you will need a printer and some thick paper or card, some scissors and glue.