NASS is pleased to announce the upcoming fifth instance of Elements of Dialing, our introductory course about sundials, their history, and the science that makes them work. The free 12-lesson course, intended for those are new to sundialing, runs from 27 October 2025 until 26 April 2026. The course instructor is Robert Kellogg, NASS Vice President and Sundial Registrar. Bob will be assisted from time to time by other NASS officers.
The course is self-study, meaning written lessons are emailed out for course participants to work through in their own time. To help things along, we schedule "office hours" discussion conducted over Zoom. . These optional sessions allow participants to discuss the lessons together and ask questions about the material. During each lesson is a practice quiz (with answers later sent out). There is a final quiz of one or two questions which must be submitted to the course instructor in order to receive the next lesson The course itself has no grade nor "pass/fail".
The course is scheduled to start on 27 October 2025 and will normally operate on a 2-week cycle, although occasionally there will be three weeks between release of lesson to accommodate holidays.
To register, contact Robert Kellogg at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. no later than October 25th.. Familiarity with basic geometry, algebra, and trigonometry at High School level is assumed. Membership in NASS is not required to join the course.
NASS acknowledges the efforts of Frans Maes, who developed the original Dutch course which inspired our NASS version.
Course curriculum outline is attached.
 Elements of Dialing - 2025.pdf | [ ] | 911 kB |