I was in kindergarten, my teacher sent instructions home to my parents so they could illustrate to me what happens as the world turns. This was my first introduction to Astronomy 101. We used the visual aids at hand - an orange, pencil, and candle. Crude, but effective.

My mother skewered an orange (the earth) with a sharp pencil (the axis of rotation) as juice squirted out at its poles. For a moment, things got a bit sticky. She lit candle and its light bathed the skin of this speared fruit while she rolled the pencil in her fingers to spin the orb about its axis.

Not only did this show me why we had day and night, but also why we got the seasons with the tilt of the axis. Little did I know that when I grew up, so many were ...

Not as smart as a kindergartner!

For the rest of this story ... with links and video, check out -

http://smithsk.blogspot.com/2013/03/science-101-part-1-vernal-equinox.html