Moon Phases Lamp

The Sun always lights half the Moon; as the Moon moves around Earth, our changing view of that same lit half makes the phases repeat in order.

Earth and Space ScienceAges 9-12~8 min🎙️ Voice tutor

Play freeNo account needed

What your child will figure out

Continuously change the Earth-view phase by dragging the Moon around its orbit.
Use the Moon's fixed Sun-facing lit half to create a requested phase.
Work backward from a shown phase to the matching orbital position.
Move phases forward in time order, then practice generated placement, reverse-view, and sequence challenges adaptively.

Moon sandbox
Feel the Earth-view phase morph continuously during a full free drag.
Make a Full Moon
Place the Moon opposite the Sun so its lit half faces Earth.
Make a thin crescent
Use continuous feedback to leave only a sliver of the lit half visible.
Reverse the view
Infer the Moon's orbital position from a shown Last Quarter phase.
Run the Moon clock
Transfer the model to a time sequence one and two weeks after Full Moon.

Play Moon Phases Lamp free — no account, no card.