On New Year’s Eve, the new year doesn’t begin at the same time for everyone! That’s because clocks around the Earth don’t all say the same time at the same time. When the sun sets for you at, say, 7 pm, it’s still high in the sky for people west of you, so their clocks say 3 or 4 pm. People east of you have nighttime. So each country reaches midnight on New Year’s at different times. If you could fly fast enough, you could hit one New Year’s party after another!
Wee ones: The year 2024 has the digits 2, 0, 2, 4. Can you remember those and say them in order?
Little kids: People love to count down the last 10 seconds before exact midnight. Can you count backwards from 10 to 1? Bonus: What year will we ring in 1 year from now?
Big kids: If right now people in London, England have just 1/2 hour left before midnight, and you’re in New York which is 5 hours behind London, what time is it in New York? Bonus: If it’s 11:44 pm for you, how many minutes do you have left to grab your party hat and noisemaker for midnight?
Answers:
Wee ones: 2, 0, 2, 4 – see how long you can remember that!
Little kids: 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. Bonus: 2019.
Big kids: 6:30 pm, since it’s 11:30 pm for them. Bonus: 16 minutes.
And happy New Year everyone!
