Can two toys share one shadow?

Have you ever made a shadow on your bedroom wall? Wiggle your fingers in front of a lamp, and a dark shape wiggles too. Shadows can look like bunnies, birds or big floppy hands.

Now picture your teddy bear and your toy bunny sitting on the floor. Could these two toys share one shadow? Let's find out together.

Let's shine a flashlight at the bear, with the wall behind it. The light flies straight toward the wall, but the bear is in the way. The bear blocks the light, so a dark patch sits on the wall. That dark patch is the bear's shadow.

Now let's put the bunny on the floor too, far away from the bear. The bunny blocks its own bit of light. Light still shines through the gap between the toys. So the wall shows two shadows, with a bright stripe between them.

Slowly, let's slide the bunny closer to the bear. The gap between the toys gets smaller, so less light slips through. The bright stripe between the shadows grows thin. What do you think happens when the toys touch?

The two shadows join! The bunny squeezes a little in front of the bear. Now their shadows overlap, which means one lies partly on top of the other. No light gets through, so the wall shows one big shadow.

This new shadow has bear ears and bunny ears on one bumpy shape. Where the shadows overlap, the wall is not any darker, just the same dark. So the bear and the bunny really do share one shadow.

Now tuck the little bunny right behind the big bear. The bear already blocks the light, so the bunny sits in the dark. The two shadows overlap all the way. Two toys, and still just one shadow!

Let's remember our word: overlap. Yes, two toys pressed close together block the light, so their shadows overlap into one.

Tonight, your toys can snuggle close and share one cozy shadow. Sleep well, and sweet dreams.