The recurring boy and girl noticing their long shadows stretching across the ground in warm sunlight.

Big question

为什么影子会动？

Wèishénme yǐngzi huì dòng?

Why do shadows move?

影子会动，是因为光在变，或者是我们在光里动了。

Yǐngzi huì dòng, shì yīnwèi guāng zài biàn, huòzhě shì wǒmen zài guāng lǐ dòng le.

有东西挡住光的时候，就会出现影子。太阳慢慢走过天空的时候，光来的方向也会变，所以影子也会跟着滑一滑、拉长一点。要是我们跳一跳、转一转，或者跑起来，影子也会跟着一起变。

Yǒu dōngxi dǎngzhù guāng de shíhou, jiù huì chūxiàn yǐngzi. Tàiyáng mànmàn zǒuguò tiānkōng de shíhou, guāng lái de fāngxiàng yě huì biàn, suǒyǐ yǐngzi yě huì gēnzhe huá yì huá, lā cháng yìdiǎn. Yàoshi wǒmen tiào yí tiào, zhuǎn yì zhuǎn, huòzhě pǎo qǐlái, yǐngzi yě huì gēnzhe yìqǐ biàn.

如果你早上看一次影子，傍晚再看一次，你觉得它会跑到哪里去呢？

Rúguǒ nǐ zǎoshang kàn yí cì yǐngzi, bàngwǎn zài kàn yí cì, nǐ juéde tā huì pǎo dào nǎlǐ qù ne?

Shadows move because the light moves, or because we move in the light.

A shadow shows up when something blocks the light. When the sun moves across the sky, the light comes from a new place, so the shadow slides and stretches too. If we hop, turn, or run, our shadow changes with us.

If you looked outside in the morning and again in the evening, where do you think your shadow would be?