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History’s Mysteries

The Mystery of Stonehenge

What is Stonehenge, exactly? Looks like a pile of big stones, right? In fact, this strange structure is older than some of the Great Pyramids and full of mysteries. Who built it? How did they raise such heavy rocks without modern equipment? How was the site used? And were any aliens involved? Find out today, as we travel across the Atlantic to England to explore this mysterious rock formation and more.

DAY 4

what you’ll need

Your Camp Kinda toolkit
A paper plate
Tape, Silly Putty, or any kind of play-dough (here's an easy homemade recipe)
A plastic straw

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FOR PARENTS

Ask About Today

Why did ancient people make such a big deal out of the summer and winter solstices? For instance, historians believe that big celebrations were held at Stonehenge each December on the shortest day of the year. Why celebrate a short day?

Dinner Discussion

If you could build a monument that would last thousands of years, what would it be? And how would future civilizations understand it?

Skip the Ads

Unfortunately, online videos often start with short advertisements. Remind your campers to click the "Skip" button as soon as they can to move ahead to the video.

explore

30-60 minutes

What do historians know about Stonehenge? And what mysteries remain?

Cracking Stonehenge

Start with this short animated video about how scientists cracked the mystery of Stonehenge, from Infographic Kids.

Remember: Online videos often start with advertisements. (Annoying, we agree!) Click the "Skip" button as soon as you can to move ahead to the video.

New Discoveries at Stonehenge

Stonehenge is one of the most famous places on Earth and has been studied carefully for hundreds of years. But did you know that we are still learning surprising and significant things about it all the time? Recently, scientists announced the discovery of a giant ring of very deep holes near Stonehenge. What were they used for?

Was Stonehenge MOVED?

Impossible, right? Maybe not. New research suggests that Stonehenge might have been built in one place and later moved over 100 miles to its current home.

Historical Myths

Stonehenge has been the subject of many wild—and wildly inaccurate—theories over the years, including that the stones were placed by aliens. But that’s hardly the only historical myth floating around. Here are 14 historical "facts" that are actually fiction. (Get this: The Vikings didn’t really wear helmets with horns!)

create

15-45 minutes

Stonehenge was carefully designed to align with the movement of the sun. Special stones marked the sunrise on the longest day of the year and the sunset on the shortest day. Before the invention of clocks, the sun’s regular patterns were essential for timekeeping. Believe it or not, we can still use the sun that way today.

Build a Sundial

To test this out, try building a sundial of your own, with help from Scientific American. Then test your sundial for accuracy. After a few hours, check your sundial to estimate what time it is. (Don’t peek at the clock first!) How close did you get?

move

30 minutes

Stonehenge is British, so today let's have a British workout.

Work out with Coach Joe

What's a British workout, you might ask? It's a workout with Joe, our favorite PE teacher. Each day, he leads a fun, simple 20-minute workout. Get moving!

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