The following 31 organizations/institutions and principal investigators (PIs) are receiving Julena Steinheider Duncombe mini-grants from the AAS Solar Eclipse Task Force, with funding provided by the National Science Foundation:
Alfred Box of Books Library, Alfred, NY; PI: Melanie A. Miller
- Library Lab: Solar Science — In the week leading up to the solar eclipse on August 21st, the library will offer a variety of activities to educate the community on the eclipse, help them view the eclipse safely, and work with community partners to encourage STEM learning beyond the classroom. All week the library will offer activities for everyone. Our youngest patrons will learn about the Sun, sky, and stars during weekly storytime. Children and teens will create models to understand the eclipse and enjoy crafts to create artistic representations of the phenomenon. Adults will help build pinhole projectors for safe viewing. The community is invited to the library on eclipse day to watch livestreams from the path of totality and to use pinhole projectors, eclipse glasses, and telescopes with solar filters. Additionally, the library will continue with its astronomy programming by providing a telescope that families can check out just like other library materials. The library has partnered with Alfred State College’s Women Engineers are Pioneers (WEP) Club to engage girls and young women in STEM activities and model careers and education in STEM fields.
Andover Public Library, Andover, OH; PI: Susan Elizabeth Hill
- Astronomical Andover — Andover Public Library will partner with the Chagrin Valley Astronomical Society and local science advisors to present special science program activities to captivate all ages. Activities include safe viewing kits for our Amish schools, programs in partnership with our Pymatuning Valley local schools, a huge community extravaganza and pre-program on the day of the solar eclipse and community viewing party, and in the following weeks speakers on science topics emphasizing the connections between Earth and the universe.
Astronomical Society of the Pacific, San Francisco, CA; PI: Vivian White
- Astronomy Clubs Preparing Latino Audiences for the Eclipse — The Astronomical Society of the Pacific will equip 25 astronomy clubs from the Night Sky Network to spread the word this summer at predominantly Latino events in their communities about how to safely and enjoyably view the August 21st solar eclipse. Preparations include handouts, activities, and banners in Spanish as well as culturally inclusive training for astronomy clubs.
Austin Peay State University, Clarksville, TN; PI: J. Allyn Smith
- Using Eclipse 2017 to Engage and Inspire: Boys & Girls Clubs — We are targeting the Boys & Girls Clubs of Hopkinsville, Kentucky, and will engage them in the Citizen CATE project. We will conduct training classes with them on the equipment, educate them on eclipses and the science value of the eclipses, and develop an astronomy outreach effort with them. On the day of the eclipse, one of our faculty members (probably Dr. Spencer Buckner, an accomplished photographer and astrophotographer) will be onsite with some undergraduate students.
Board of Trustees of Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, IL; PI: Scott E. Ishman
- Engaging Youth with the Solar Eclipse through SAV-TE Workshops — The paths of the August 21, 2017, total solar eclipse (TSE) and April 8, 2024, TSE intersect over southern Illinois in a region that has become known as the “Eclipse Crossroads of America.” Southern Illinois University Carbondale (SIUC) is located deep in southern Illinois in Jackson County, just a few miles from the point of greatest duration of the 2017 TSE. In an effort to increase awareness of the TSE and promote science education we propose a series of SAfe Viewing of Total Eclipse (SAV-TE) workshops on eclipse safety and viewing that will focus on under-represented children and adolescents. The workshops will occur at the four Boys & Girls Club localities in Carbondale. The workshops will focus on eclipse education and safety through activities that include building eclipse models and constructing pinhole projectors. TSE Student Ambassadors will be selected and will participate in peer outreach during the TSE at SIUC.
College of Charleston, Charleston, SC; PI: Terry Richardson
- Eclipse Science Ambassador Workshops — The College of Charleston Department of Physics and Astronomy, in partnership with the Lowcountry Hall of Science and Math and the South Carolina Space Grant Consortium, will conduct free eclipse-science workshops for students and their parents from schools in underserved communities from May through July. The students will construct a new type of user-friendly solar projection telescope we have designed; it is less than 3 feet long, projects a 3-inch image of the Sun, and costs less than $20. The students will be trained in safe solar eclipse observation and the use of their telescope, and they will leave the workshop with a finished telescope, a badge indicating their status as an official Eclipse Science Ambassador, an astronomer's contact information for follow-up help, and resource materials to help in answering questions during the eclipse. The plan is for these students to set up eclipse observations in their local community or in one of the many locales around the county where our astronomers will be located.
College of Idaho, Caldwell, ID; PI: Kathryn E. Devine
- Pre-Eclipse Outreach Activities at the College of Idaho — The College of Idaho (C of I) campus is approximately a two-hour drive from the path of the 2017 total solar eclipse. Our community has significant ethnic and socioeconomic populations under-represented in STEM fields, and the C of I is ideally situated to increase participation in eclipse activities for people traditionally underrepresented in astronomy. We will focus two existing outreach programs, planetarium shows and Astronomy Day, on the upcoming eclipse. In April the C of I planetarium will host a free, on-campus Astronomy Day for the general public. This will include eclipse-themed planetarium shows, activities demonstrating eclipse alignments, and craft stations to decorate eclipse viewing glasses and build pinhole eclipse viewers. In early August we will offer a series of planetarium shows that will explain the science of eclipses and how to safely view the eclipse. Planetarium audience members will also construct their own pinhole eclipse viewers using materials commonly found in homes. All participants in Astronomy Day and the planetarium shows will be provided with an information sheet showing Idaho locations from which to view the total eclipse, including driving distances, maps, eclipse times, and safety reminders.
Danville Science Center, Danville, VA; PI: Brian C. Buchanan
- Solar Science Spectacular — Prior to the August solar eclipse, the Danville Science Center will provide inspiring opportunities for underserved youth in the area designed to encourage them to broaden their knowledge and understanding of STEM-related fields of study, especially in the areas of Earth science and astronomy. We will accomplish this through outreach programs and activities at local Boys & Girls Clubs of the Danville area, which focus on the Earth-Moon-Sun system and the geometry of eclipses. Participants will be able to make live observations of the Sun through a telescope and other solar imaging equipment while learning about the basic makeup and structure of our star. Students will make pinhole projectors to be used in select schools on the day of the event. During the third Thursday of July and August, we will provide special activities and programs on solar science during Science After Dark, an after-hours opportunity for families and individuals to discover more about astronomy and Earth science at special discounted rates. The day of the eclipse we plan to transport 4th-grade students from two local elementary schools to the science center, giving them the opportunity to experience the event live with staff providing the equipment and instruction on how to view a solar eclipse safely and what we are able to observe during events like these.
F&L Organizational Services, New Orleans, LA; PI: Sean Tate
- EclipseFEST 2017! — EclipseFEST 2017 will facilitate a series of 10 one-day mini-camp experiences in late July and early August to engage New Orleans youth and introduce them to the 2017 solar eclipse. EclipseFEST 2017 will aim to accomplish four modules: Create, Play, Build, and Explore; all are inspired by DiscoveryFEST's mission to bring play, learning, and discovery to New Orleans youth. Each module will feature activities that further these themes, including Chalk Eclipses, Solar System Stomp, Shoebox Eclipses, Eclipse Cookies, and more.
Fort Worth Museum of Science and History, Fort Worth, TX; PI: Sarah Twidal
- Solar Eclipse Party — To teach the public about eclipses and transits while also ensuring safe viewing of these natural phenomena, the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History (FWMSH) will partner with the Fort Worth Library to host a solar eclipse party on August 21, 2017. Activities will include watching the event through solar-eclipse glasses and telescopes, interacting with a digital eclipse model, and interactions with staff, volunteers, and educational handouts. Through this event, we aim to engage members of the public who do not usually see themselves as scientists. The event will be hosted at the East Regional Library, which is located in a predominantly underserved area of Fort Worth with higher-than-average rates of under-represented groups.
Friends of the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, Raleigh, NC; PI: Kari Wouk
- Shadow at 2 O’Clock: The Eclipse Comes to Raleigh — The North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, in partnership with the Raleigh Astronomy Club, will host a workshop where community educators will learn safe and engaging methods for facilitating eclipse programs during the 2017 solar eclipse. At the end of the workshop, these educators will be given supplies for running their own programs. In addition, the Museum will itself send 10 experienced educators into the Raleigh community to engage underserved populations, particularly communities of color, with eclipse programs the day of the eclipse.
Girl Scouts of Kentuckiana, Louisville, KY; PI: Carolyn Cromer; Contact: John Herzfeld
- Girl Scouts Sun Fun — Girl Scouts of Kentuckiana (GSK) will host parties to reach out to 1st- through 4th-grade nonmembers in underserved communities to teach them about the eclipse and introduce them to Girl Scouts. To encourage participation, we will promote the parties through schools, public facilities, newspaper advertisements, radio ads, and social media. Parties will be scheduled in July 2017 in each of GSK's largest markets: Louisville and Bowling Green. We anticipate 50 girls per party, with a total of 150 individuals (girls and family members) served. Activities at the parties will feature hands-on activities that teach girls about solar and lunar eclipses and the relationship between the Sun, the Moon, and Earth. We will wrap up by giving the girls eclipse glasses and teaching them how to use them.
Great Smoky Mountains Institute at Tremont, Townsend, TN; PI: Jennifer L. Jones
- Solar Eclipse Science Camp — On August 21, 2017, the Great Smoky Mountains National Park is uniquely positioned for viewing of “The Great American Total Solar Eclipse.” Great Smoky Mountains Institute at Tremont will use this special event to provide underserved high school students with the opportunity to learn in a national park, serve the community, and gain experiences to enrich student academic outcomes prior to college. For four days and three nights, 25 high-school students from underserved communities in East Tennessee and North Carolina will complete a residential program at Tremont Institute. From August 19 to August 22, 2017, they will learn about the solar eclipse, underlying principles of physics and astronomy, study the natural history of the Smoky Mountains, and explore recent scientific findings in astronomy and ecology from our world-class faculty and guest scientists and speakers. The camp will culminate with students applying their knowledge and leadership skills by acting as educators and docents for the general public participating in eclipse programming within the national park on the day of the eclipse.
Heyward Gibbes Middle School, Columbia, SC; PI: Lillie Hardison
- Engaging the Public with the Solar Eclipse — All of us at the Heyward Gibbes Middle School are excited about the 2017 total solar eclipse, and we want members of our surrounding community to get in on the excitement, too. We will start our educational events by sharing our students' astronomy knowledge with senior citizens at a neighboring retirement home. The students will read short stories about eclipses, provide attendees with eclipse viewing glasses, and invite attendees to be our viewing guests on the day of the eclipse. Additionally, we plan to share our students' knowledge of solar eclipses with the broader community by hosting a pre-eclipse-viewing seminar. During this student-led seminar community members will learn about what causes a solar eclipse and how to view one safely. Attendees will also receive cardboard eclipse glasses and a student-created educational brochure and will engage in hands-on enrichment activities.
Hummel Planetarium at Eastern Kentucky University, Richmond, KY; PI: Aida V. Bermudez
- Solar Eclipse Fun Outreach — Hummel Planetarium is going to be part of three major events and several smaller events that are already scheduled with the county’s public library. Two of the major events will be held at the planetarium (one kid-friendly, the other for adults), and the third event will be at the library. At the three events, there’ll be an age-appropriate lecture explaining the eclipse followed by different hands-on activities that’ll help the community understand why eclipses happen but also why they don't happen more frequently. At these events, the public will learn about safety tips to see the eclipse and, weather permitting, there’ll be a solar telescope for the public to use and compare the Sun using their solar glasses and the telescope. Partnering up with the public library, different of their set events will be attended to reach the parts of the community that can’t attend the other events, such as attending YMCA days, bilingual event days, and their movie night for the youth population of the community. At these, safety tips will be talked about as well as hands-on activities to understand the eclipse.
Indigenous Education Institute, Friday Harbor, WA; PI: Nancy Maryboy
- Native Pathways to Totality and Back — The Indigenous Education Institute, an all-native institution based in the San Juan Islands, Washington, and Santa Fe, New Mexico, will facilitate face-to-face meetings, video conferences, and training on eclipse science and native perspectives among selected native communities along the path of totality. We will also create a video based on native perspectives, cultural knowledge, and stories of the Sun. This will include communities such as Navajo Nation (not in the path of totality) where solar-eclipse protocol is complex — tradition tells that you stay inside and do not look at the Sun during these events. We are also working with the Museum of the Cherokee Indian in Cherokee, North Carolina; the STAR School near Flagstaff, Arizona; and other communities along the path of totality (potentially including Warm Springs, Oregon, and Wind River, Wyoming) to deepen engagement with tribal cultural knowledge of the sky and Western science.
Kearney Public Schools Foundation, Kearney, NE; PI: Lisa Parish
- Preparing for the Solar Eclipse at KCLC and KPS PAWS — The goal of our project is to provide total solar eclipse and astronomy learning opportunities to rural low-income children, youth, and families in Kearney, Nebraska, in preparation for the August 21st eclipse and continuing physics and astronomy learning during the spring, summer, and fall of 2017. Programs will be conducted at Kearney Community Learning Center (KCLC) afterschool and summer sessions and at Kearney Public Schools (KPS) Personal Achievement Workshops (PAWS) summer sessions. We’ll engage participants with scale models, portable planetariums, telescopes, and other educational tools and activities. Our efforts will prepare and encourage students and families to attend community-wide solar eclipse events planned by the Kearney Visitors Bureau.
L. C. Bates Museum at Good Will-Hinckley, Hinckley, ME; PI: Deborah Staber
- Exploring the Solar Eclipse: Inspiring Wonder about the Sun and Solar System — The L. C. Bates Museum and collaborating teachers, a local astronomer, and area families believe that learning experiences can be enhanced when observable science, like the August 21st solar eclipse, is augmented by STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art, and math) learning activities. This project addresses a need for opportunities for rural central Maine children and adults to view and understand the eclipse. The projects will build greater public understanding and awareness of our solar system by providing eclipse programs, hands-on activities, and Sun viewing for our rural community. The project activities will include outreach programming for 10 classrooms, informing visitors about the eclipse and offering them viewing glasses and using an exhibited photo image of an eclipse to prepare them for the August event. As part of spring school field trips 3,000 students will experience an introduction to the eclipse, a summer astronomy day camp, and a viewing event for the eclipse.
Macon County Public Library, Franklin, NC; PI: Cristen A. Dando
- Eclipse Science Stations — Since Macon County Public Library is in the path of totality, we will use this grant to purchase “stations” to engage the public, especially under-represented groups, in eclipse and astronomy education through a series of outreach events and programs in the library leading up to the eclipse. The stations will include a circular motion and rotation station, an astronomical body modeling station, a culture and arts station, and an eclipse awareness/promotion station. The goal for these stations is to provide hands-on science-related activities to educate people of all demographics and abilities on physics and astronomy and how this relates to the eclipse. All of the programming will promote and ultimately culminate in the Eclipse Science Festival on August 21st.
Maryland Academy of Sciences at the Maryland Science Center, Baltimore, MD; PI: Jim O'Leary
- In the Shadow of the Moon: Preparing Teachers for the Great American Eclipse — The Maryland Science Center plans two day-long workshops for underserved educators to be held at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility on Virginia's Eastern Shore. One workshop will be held in advance of the August 21 eclipse and the other as a follow-up in the fall. We will provide teachers with Galileoscopes, which they will assemble during the workshop, as well as tripods and solar filters. We will demonstrate Sunspotters and offer them for teachers to borrow for use with their students. We will provide eclipse-related content and demonstrate classroom-ready activities and enough eclipse glasses (courtesy of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center) for each teacher's classes.
Minnesota State University Moorhead Planetarium, Moorhead, MN; PI: Sara Kay Schultz
- Engaging the Fargo-Moorhead Community in the Great American Eclipse — We will teach high-school students in the Youth Educational Services (YES) School on the campus of Minnesota State University Moorhead (MSUM) about eclipse science and safe viewing techniques. These “YES mentors,” academically capable but underprivileged students from varying ethnic backgrounds, will then help us train staff from local public libraries and Boys & Girls Clubs to prepare their communities for the August 21st solar eclipse. Training will include viewing the planetarium show Eclipse: The Sun Revealed, simulating solar and lunar eclipses with the Astronomical Society of the Pacific’s “Yardstick Eclipse” model, and learning to use “eclipse glasses” for direct solar viewing and Sunspotter solar projectors for indirect viewing. Our efforts will culimate with eclipse-viewing events at participating youth centers and libraries as well as a community-wide event at MSUM’s Nemzek Stadium.
Science Museum of Western Virginia, Roanoke, VA; PI: Hannah Weiss
- Syzygy: A Trio of Educational Eclipse Events — It the aim of the Science Museum of Western Virginia to create opportunities for astronomy-based outreach to as much of our community as possible. In order to accomplish this we plan on holding a free-with-admission Saturday event with a number of hands-on activities related to eclipse safety and education. The museum also plans on running a Saturday day camp for under-served populations in our area with many similar activities. It is our goal that participants leaving our programs will return to their communities able to share knowledge of the geometry involved in the eclipse, safe viewing procedures, and the methodology of constructing viewing devices, thereby acting as mini-experts within their neighborhoods. We also hope to hold a viewing party on the day of the eclipse and invite local astronomers/astronomy experts to provide a safe space in which members of the surrounding community can pursue astronomy-related discourse and education.
Science Outreach Center at St. Francis University, Loretto, PA; PI: Lanika Ruzhitskaya
- Red Sky — The Science Outreach Center at Francis University will organize a series of public-education events in preparation for the Great American Eclipse and, in the process, establish a long-lasting program of sidewalk astronomy to serve rural low-income communities in Bedford, Blair, Cambria, and Somerset counties of South Central Pennsylvania. Prior to the eclipse, we'll conduct a program of astronomy summer camps for elementary- and middle-school children; public talks and workshops for children, parents, and teachers introducing them to eclipses and phases of the Moon; sidewalk astronomy; and astronomy activities in classrooms and afterschool programs. During the eclipse, several stations for safe solar viewing will be set up in Hollidaysburg, Patton, Martinsburg, and Altoona using binoculars, telescopes, and Sunspotters. The stations will be also equipped with portable projectors and screens for watching live feeds of the eclipse from the path of totality. Over 500 solar glasses will be distributed on the day of the event. After the eclipse, the program will continue in schools and on sidewalks in small towns in the Alleghenies.
Southeast Missouri State University, Cape Girardeau, MO; PI: Tamela D. Randolph
- Solar Powered Girls — This is a residential program where girls will live and work with each other, undergraduate women, and university professionals. Many of the activities planned for this year correlate with national science education standards and are run so that the young women will gain hands-on experience through inquiry and creative projects. Underlying this project are the ideas of exploration, introduction to theory, and experiential learning. Many of the hands-on activities introduce new science content and concepts. Student assistants for these activities are primarily drawn from currently enrolled female Southeast Missouri State University math, science, and technology majors who work with the girls during the day to serve as peer mentors.
St. Louis Astronomical Society, St. Louis, MO; PI: Richard W. Heuermann; Contact: Donald Ficken
- Eclipse Awareness & Library Telescope Program Expansion for Pre-Collegiate Educators — The St. Louis Astronomical Society (SLAS) will extend eclipse information and equipment to pre-college-level educators in rural areas or areas serving predominantly under-represented minorities. This project will continue long after the August 21 solar eclipse. Sunspotter solar projectors will be circulated by libraries, along with information about the eclipse, safe solar viewing practices, and activities suitable for classroom and schoolyard use. The Sunspotters, as well as the night-sky telescopes provided separately by SLAS, will be checked out from library branches in areas serving under-represented minorities or rural populations with few resources for science education. An information packet will be compiled by the St. Louis Eclipse 2017 Task Force using content from national and local sources. Educators can keep the loaner instrument for up to a month. Via the Library Telescope Program, participating libraries are already experienced in the logistics and publicity involved in circulating scientific instruments to the public.
Truman State University, Kirksville, MO; PI: Vayujeet M. Gokhale
- Solar Eclipse 2017 at Kirksville, Missouri — The goal of this project is to establish, build, and develop links between Truman State University (TSU) and local organizations such as the Adair County Public Library (ACPL), the Kirksville STEAM alliance, and the Kirksville R-III public schools to engage school and college students, their families, and members of the public in astronomy- and science-related activities. TSU is planning a series of activities and events leading up to the eclipse on August 21, 2017, and on the day of the eclipse itself, and we plan on follow-up events that will include school and college students, faculty and staff, and members of the broader Kirksville community. We expect an overall indirect participation of more than 6,000 individuals, ~70% of whom will be from underserved populations: female students and/or economically disadvantaged members of the community. We hope that these activities will stimulate, encourage, and excite young minds to pursue STEM careers. Activities will be supervised by a team of faculty and staff members from TSU, ACPL, STEAM, and the R-III schools and run by highly motivated student volunteers (at least 50% women and/or minority) from TSU's "Stargazers" and "Women in Physics" programs as well as by highly gifted students from local schools.
University of Missouri, Columbia, MO; PI: Candace Galen
- Doing Sound Science During a Solar Eclipse: It’s the Bee’s Knees — We will engage 5th-grade students in the Columbia Public School District in the use of acoustic technology to explore how a total solar eclipse alters pollinator (bee) behavior. Up to 500 students at 20 schools will participate. Teachers will prepare by attending a professional development workshop led by faculty and student scientists from the University of Missouri. Guided by teachers and scientists, studets will monitor light and temperature during the eclipse and record sound to measure impacts on the energy balance of bees. Teachers will guide students in setting up microphones and environmental sensors in flowering gardens at their schools to record bee buzzes, light, and temperature on the day of the eclipse and a day prior to the eclipse (“control data”). Students will learn to “read” sound spectra and will compare the number of buzzes recorded during in each interval. As a synthesis activity, students will draw cartoons illustrating the story of the eclipse, how it changed the physical environment, and how bees responded. These artifacts will capture the activity’s outcomes for student learning and enthusiasm for science. We will submit a manuscript to a science education journal communicating these impacts.
University of North Florida, Jacksonville, FL; PI: John William Hewitt
- Jacksonville Eclipsed! — Channeling excitement around the 2017 solar eclipse, we will provide materials and a workshop for local teachers with the goal of having every Duval County public middle-school and high-school student view and understand the deep partial solar eclipse. Our activities will bring together an active astronomy outreach community and teachers and students at schools in under-served communities in Jacksonville.
University of Toledo Ritter Planetarium, Toledo, OH; PI: Michael C. Cushing
- Preparing the City of Toledo for the Great Solar Eclipse — The University of Toledo’s Ritter Planetarium will partner with the Toledo-Lucas County Public Library to conduct a series of hands-on workshops to prepare children and their parents for the solar eclipse on 21 August 2017. The goals of this project are to get kids excited to watch the eclipse, make sure they do so in a safe manner, foster an interest in astronomy, and ensure that this interest is maintained well after the eclipse.
WCQS 88.1 FM, Blue Ridge Public Radio, Asheville, NC; PI: Helen Chickering
- Crossing Paths: Earth & Moon, Art & Science — This interdisciplinary project will use the arts to inspire students about science. Our team will design interdisciplinary lesson plans grounded in curriculum standards and then conduct a competition for art about the solar eclipse. We'll reach middle-school, high-school, and community-college students in nine rural Appalachian counties that are at least partially on the path of totality. We will also recruit participants from the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. Students will submit works of art as digital images or short videos in three categories: poetry, visual art, or sculpture. Artwork should inspire others to view the eclipse and should explain some aspect of the science behind the phenomenon. Winning artworks will be exhibited at the WCQS studios in June and at the Asheville Museum of Science in July and August and will be displayed on the Art + Science in the Field website.
Wyoming NASA Space Grant Consortium, Laramie, WY; PI: Shawna M. McBride
- 2017 Solar Eclipse Community Engagement Project for Wyoming — On 21 August 2017 a rare and awe-inspiring total solar eclipse will cross the state of Wyoming. Total solar eclipses are often once-in-a-lifetime events and provide a great opportunity for eclipse-related education, and we plan to use this event to engage both teachers and students in understanding physics and astronomy, the Sun, and space science. To engage educators in Wyoming, we plan to host a two-day professional development workshop at the University of Wyoming designed to provide educators with knowledge of the upcoming solar eclipse and the tools to bring this teachable moment to their classrooms and communities. The workshop will include hands-on activities, lectures from astronomers, and tours of University of Wyoming resources, such as the planetarium. To engage students, we plan to partner with the Boys & Girls Club of Carbon County. For the past two years, we have partnered with the Boys & Girls Club to provide elementary and middle-school students with interactive and engaging STEM “Science Friday” programming. Our goal for this grant and for the summer is to incorporate 2017 solar eclipse activities into a four-day summer session. Activities will include explanations of the science behind the eclipse, how to safely view the eclipse, and the historical and scientific significance of eclipses.