Summer is known for sunshine, warm weather, and extra time to enjoy the outdoors—but did you know those long summer days are full of math? Around the summer solstice in late June, we experience the longest day of the year. In Park City, that means nearly 15 hours of daylight, giving families about 900 minutes to hike, bike, play, explore, or simply enjoy the beautiful weather. Compared to winter, when daylight lasts only about 9 hours, summer gives us an extra 360 minutes of sunshine each day! That's a Lot of Minutes!
15 hours of daylight equals:
How many fun activities could you fit into 900 minutes? 🥾🚵🏼♀️🚤⚽️
Let's talk about the Sun's daily journey... the Earth rotates once every 24 hours, which is why we experience day and night. During summer, the Northern Hemisphere tilts toward the Sun, giving us longer days and shorter nights. And with longer days to play, you'll be wanting to check the daily temperatures to help plan your summer adventures. Here is how your kids can use averages to track the weather:
If the high temperatures for five days are:
85°, 88°, 90°, 84°, 93°
Average = (85 + 88 + 90 + 84 + 93) ÷ 5 = 88°F
Another fun daytime activity in the summer (no matter where you are) that incorporates everyday math is Shadow Math!
When the Sun is higher in the sky during summer, your shadow becomes shorter. Measure your shadow at:
Graph the results to see how the Sun's position changes throughout the day! 🌞📏📈. You can keep tracking this in the Winter and compare the differences between seasons;-)
Let's not forget those Summer Reading Challenges...with extra hours to chill, why not fit some reading in and see how your reading log minutes add up
If you read 20 minutes every day for 60 days:
20 × 60 = 1,200 minutes
📚 That's 20 hours of reading!
Finally, what is summer time without all the delicious treats to keep you cool all day long... we're talking watermelon, lemonade, popsicles and of course, ice cream!! Next time your family goes out for a sweet treat, try this math challenge: Ice Cream Fractions 🍦
If a family eats:
What fraction were chocolate? Vanilla? Strawberry?
A: 3 out of 6 = 3/6 = 1/2; 2 out of 6 = 2/6 = 1/3; 1 out of 6 = 1/6
🌅 Summer Daylight Math Challenge 🌄
If the Sun rises at 5:50 AM and sets at 8:55 PM, how long is the day? Check us out on Instagram for the ANSWER (@mathnasiumofparkcity)
At Mathnasium of Park City, we love helping students discover that math isn't just something found in textbooks—it's all around us. Whether you're exploring the outdoors, planning family activities, or making the most of those extra hours of daylight, summer offers countless opportunities to keep math skills sharp while having fun. So get outside, enjoy the sunshine, and see how many ways you can find math in your own summer adventures! We hope to see you in-center and out and about town this summer - we will be keeping count of how many times we see all our Mathnasium friends😉
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