The Science behind the Stories - Tales of the Wondrous Acre Wood: September Chapters 1-4
Updated: Sep 20
One of the things that makes Tales of The Wondrous Acre Wood different from other children's stories is that everything Finn discovers and learns about is genuinely true and research-backed.
In this blog post, you'll find the science behind every discovery Finn makes across the four September chapters, so that when you read the stories together with your child, you can feel confident to continue to explore the themes and the learning in more depth.
Chapter 1 - The Gap in the Hedge
The science of autumn light
When Finn steps through the gap in the hedge on the first morning of September, he notices something immediately - the light is different. He notices that it's lower, more golden and falling at a different angle than it did in August. He is right.
When summer shifts to autumn, the Earth's tilt on its axis means the sun sits lower on the horizon in the Northern Hemisphere. As angle of sunlight changes, it travels through more of the Earth's atmosphere before reaching us, allowing the warm amber and golden tones to dominate. This is why autumn light looks and feels different from summer light. This effect becomes more obvious as the days get closer to the equinox, near the end of September.
Want to read more?
Subscribe to theknowandplayspace.com to keep reading this exclusive post.
