US Time Zones Game
A free time zone activity with live clocks for all six US time zones – Hawaii, Alaska, Pacific, Mountain, Central and Eastern – side by side, so students can see the time change from west to east.
Below the clocks, a quiz asks questions like “When it’s 3:00 PM in Chicago, what time is it in Seattle?” Easy mode sticks to the four main zones and names each city’s time zone; Hard mode adds Alaska and Hawaii.
How to use it in class
- Look at the clocks. Put the page on the board. Each card shows the time right now in one zone, with a few big cities. Your own zone is outlined.
- Spot the pattern. Ask students what changes from one card to the next. Moving east, each zone is one hour later (Hawaii and Alaska can differ by more, depending on daylight saving time).
- Play the quiz. Pick Easy or Hard and answer 10 questions. After each answer, the game explains how many hours ahead or behind the other city is.
- Talk about daylight saving. The note under the clocks says whether daylight saving time is on today, and how that changes Hawaii’s difference from the mainland.
Classroom ideas
Call a friend
Ask: if you want to call a cousin in Los Angeles at 7:00 PM their time, what time is it here? Check it with the clocks.
Travel plans
Plan an imaginary flight from New York to Denver that takes 4 hours. What time does it land in Denver time?
Sports on TV
Find a game that starts at 8:00 PM Eastern and work out when it starts in each of the other zones.
Frequently asked questions
How many time zones does the US have?
The 50 states use six time zones: Eastern, Central, Mountain, Pacific, Alaska and Hawaii-Aleutian. US territories add three more.
Which states don’t use daylight saving time?
Hawaii and most of Arizona stay on standard time all year. US territories such as Puerto Rico and Guam don’t use it either.
Are the clocks accurate?
Yes. They use your device’s clock and the official time zone rules built into your browser, so daylight saving time changes are handled automatically.
Why aren’t states colored by time zone?
Several states, such as Texas, Florida, Kentucky and Tennessee, are split between two time zones, so the game uses cities that sit entirely inside one zone.