Solar Eclipse Planning Workshop, Sept. 29-30, 2023, San Antonio, Texas

Workshop Banner — North America will soon be treated to two major solar eclipses, when the Sun, Moon, and Earth align. On both occasions, nearly everyone in the Americas will have at least a partial solar eclipse. Map courtesy Michael Zeiler, GreatAmericanEclipse.com.

Day 1 Program | Day 2 Program | Posters | Registrants

San Antonio Eclipse Poster — Artwork by Tyler Nordgren.

The American Astronomical Society (AAS) Solar Eclipse Task Force will host a solar eclipse planning workshop Friday-Saturday, September 29-30, 2023, at the Scobee Education Center at San Antonio College, 1819 N. Main Ave., San Antonio, TX, 78212 (PDF map and directions). This workshop, cohosted by the University of Texas, San Antonio, will precede the 55th annual meeting of the AAS Division for Planetary Sciences, which will be held jointly with the Europlanet Science Congress at the Marriott Rivercenter, October 1-6. (Registration for the two events is separate.)

Simons Foundation Logo The Simons Foundation is partnering with us on the workshop program, and we gratefully acknowledge NASA for financial support through a cooperative agreement.

The workshop will be conducted in a hybrid format, accommodating both in-person and remote/virtual attendees. All plenary sessions and most breakout sessions will be accessible in real time to off-site attendees via Zoom Events. Such sessions will be recorded and made available freely after the workshop. Note: This likely will be the last of our hybrid eclipse planning workshops before the October 2023 and April 2024 American solar eclipses.

Program/Schedule

The following program is subject to change; there may be additions, deletions, or substitutions among speakers and topics. All times are local; San Antonio is on Central Daylight Time (CDT), which is 2 hours ahead of PDT, 1 hour behind EDT, and 6 hours behind UTC. The Scobee Center is located on the western side of the San Antonio College campus; use our PDF map and directions to find it.

Workshop Day 1: Friday, September 29, 2023

08:30 am to 09:00 am — Breakfast

09:00 am to 09:15 am — Welcome & Introductions

09:15 am to 10:15 am — Plenary Session 1: Storytelling: Media, Marketing & Communications, Part 1

Essentials of Media Training
Presenter: Meredith Drosback (AAAS/SciLine), "Introduction to the Media Landscape," "How to Be Found by Reporters," "What to Do When a Reporter Calls," "Advice to Remember During an Interview."

10:15 am to 10:30 am — Break

10:30 am to 11:30 am — Plenary Session 2: Storytelling: Media, Marketing & Communications, Part 2

What the Media Need, and How to Pitch Stories
Presenters: Jamie Carter (Freelance Journalist & When Is the Next Eclipse): "How To Get Journalists to Write About Your Eclipse Events and News;" David Baron (Freelance Journalist & Former NPR Science Correspondent), "Think Like a Journalist;" April Orcutt (Freelance Journalist): "Bright, Shiny Objects for the Media;" Bill Taylor (KENS-TV 5 San Antonio), "To Reach the Public, Reach Out to Broadcast Meteorologists;" David Heilbroner (Sandbox Films): "Being Heard Above the Noise."

11:30 am to 12:30 pm — Lunch

12:30 pm to 01:30 pm — Plenary Session 3: Event Planning: Where the Rubber Meets the Road, Part 1

Community Engagement
Presenters: Michael Zeiler (Great American Eclipse): "Revised Eclipse Visitation Estimates;" Dan Schneiderman (Rochester Museum & Science Center): "Partnering with Everyone Under the Sun;" Tyler Nordgren (Space Art Travel Bureau): "Eclipse Outreach and Promotion Through Art;" Kate Russo (Being in the Shadow), Erica Sagebiel (Texas Hill Country River Region) & Hailey Hart (Texas Hill Country River Region): "Behind the Scenes of the Uvalde County Stellar Fest."

01:30 pm to 01:45 pm — Break

01:45 pm to 02:45 pm — Plenary Session 4: Event Planning: Where the Rubber Meets the Road, Part 2

Eclipse Events
Presenters: Jennifer Gallo (Gallo Event Agency): "Preparing for Totality: Tips for Planning a Large-Scale Eclipse Event," Jessica Morgan (City of Sweetwater, TN), Hayley Isbill (City of Sweetwater, TN), Ben Wiehe (Science Festival Alliance & MIT Museum) & Tia Vice (Main Street America): "Getting Ready for the Great American Solar Eclipse;" Ian Lauer (Ian Lauer Astro): "Accommodating Astrophotographers at Eclipse Events."

02:45 pm to 03:00 pm — Break

03:00 pm to 04:00 pm — Parallel Breakout Discussion Sessions

Breakout Session 1: Speed Press Pitching Activity
- Following remarks by Meredith Drosback (see Plenary 1), eclipse planners will have the opportunity to practice pitching stories to journalists, and journalists will have the opportunity to identify great sources in the eclipse-planning community. This session will not be streamed or recorded in Zoom Events.
Breakout Session 2: Eclipse Events & Main Street America
- Jessica Morgan, Hayley Isbill & Ben Wiehe (see Plenary 4) will go into more detail on lessons learned in 2017 and how to apply them in 2023/24.
Breakout Session 3: Indigenous Perspectives on Eclipses
- We anticipate having speakers sharing Coahuiltecan, Diné/Navajo, and San Antonio Mission Indian perspectives on solar eclipses. This session will not be streamed or recorded in Zoom Events.

04:00 pm to 04:15 pm — Break

04:15 pm to 04:45 pm — Day 1 Closing Remarks

06:00 pm to 09:00 pm — Reception Sponsored by the Simons Foundation

Location: Witte Museum, Brackenridge Park, 3801 Broadway, San Antonio, TX 78209 (transportation provided)
- The reception will feature a SWAG showcase, so attendees are invited to bring samples of your custom-printed T-shirts, mugs, stickers, and other eclipse souvenirs to promote your events and — if you're willing — to give away as door prizes.

Workshop Day 2: Saturday, September 30, 2023

08:30 am to 09:00 am — Breakfast

09:00 am to 09:15 am — Welcome Back & Announcements

09:15 am to 10:15 am — Plenary Session 5: Essentials of Eclipse Science, Education & Engagement, Part 1

Cool Projects
Presenters: Andrew Fraknoi for Dennis Schatz (National Science Teaching Association): "What Educators Are Planning for the Upcoming Eclipses;" Andrew Fraknoi (Fromm Institute, Univ. of San Francisco): "How Eclipse Experts Are Helping Libraries and Other Community Organizations;" Deborah Skapik (Friends' Central School & St. Joseph's Univ.): "Educating the Educators;" Charles Fulco (NASA/JPL Solar System Ambassador): "No Inmate Left Inside!"

10:15 am to 10:30 am — Break

10:30 am to 11:30 am — Plenary Session 6: Essentials of Eclipse Science, Education & Engagement, Part 2

Cool Tech
Presenters: Jesse Tomlinson (The Eclipse Company): "Technology's Role in Eclipse Outreach;" Danielle Gunn (The Planetary Society): "Picking the Perfect Spot: A Tool to Help the Public;" Kelby Bridwell (Garner State Park, Texas): "Solar Eclipse Viewing Tents — How to Make Them;" Allyson Bieryla (Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian): "The LightSound Project: Making Eclipses Accessible to the Blind and Low-Vision Community;" Trae Winter (ARISA Lab): "Eclipse Soundscapes: Using Open Source Tools for Accessible & Inclusive Eclipse Science;" Trae Winter for MaryKay Severino (ARISA Lab): "How You and Your Community Can Get Involved in the Eclipse Soundscapes Project."

11:30 am to 12:30 pm — Lunch

12:30 pm to 01:30 pm — Plenary Session 7: Storytelling: Media, Marketing & Communications, Part 3

What to Say, What Not to Say, and Addressing Misconceptions
Presenters: Rick Fienberg (AAS Solar Eclipse Task Force): "Doing Our Best to Counter Misconceptions and Misinformation;" Kate Russo (Being in the Shadow): "Totality Storytelling — Don't Forget the Wow!;" David Martin Davies (Texas Public Radio): "Communicating Safety & Preparedness;" Scott Fybush (Fybush Media): "How to Speak Media."

01:30 pm to 01:45 pm — Break

01:45 pm to 02:45 pm — Plenary Session 8: What Next? From 2024 to 2045

Documenting the Eclipse and Preparing for the Future
Presenters: David Baron (Freelance Journalist & Former NPR Science Correspondent): "Eclipses as Portals to History;" Harrison Nir (Sandbox Films): "Community to Continuity;" Dan McGlaun (Eclipse2024.org): "A Preview of Upcoming Solar Eclipses & Planned Visual Resources from Eclipse2024.org;" Kate Russo (Being in the Shadow): "Helping Australia Shine in the Dark."

02:45 pm to 03:00 pm — Break

03:00 pm to 04:00 pm — Parallel Breakout Discussion Sessions

Breakout Session 4: Simons Foundation & Main Street America
- This session is exclusively for Main Street America communities supported by the Simons Foundation. It will not be streamed or recorded in Zoom Events.
Breakout Session 5: Resource Showcase & Demos
- Explore hands-on activities, tactile models, and other resources for engaging audiences in eclipse science and education; meet innovators from NASA's PUNCH mission, the Univ. of Texas, San Antonio, and Texas A&M Univ., among others. This session will not be streamed or recorded in Zoom Events.

04:00 pm to 04:15 pm — Break

04:15 pm to 04:45 pm — Calls to Action & Workshop Closing Remarks

Posters

Click on the links below to download and view the posters, which are provided as PDFs. These posters are copyrighted by the authors; if you wish to reproduce them, repost them, or otherwise use content from them, you must seek permission from the authors. If you need help contacting them, email the AAS Solar Eclipse Task Force for assistance. Exceptions: The infographics and invitations by Kate Desulis of Prevent Blindness are free to reproduce and distribute.

Eclipse Resources