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On the day of the eclipse, one of the places you could see the alignment of the Sun, Moon, and Earth was at the Delaware Museum of Natural Science. The facility was established to excite, enlighten and educate guests about natural, environmental and celestial events both indoors and outdoors.
Participants had the opportunity to explore the museum’s regular exhibits and participate in hands-on activities inspired by the solar eclipse. These include live streams from NASA, demonstrations highlighting the differences between solar and lunar eclipses, and hands-on activities that explain star formation.
As eclipse time approached, the outdoor patio and grassy meadow became a focal point. Visitors swapped out spare eclipse glasses, laid out blankets and looked forward to viewing the space spectacle from Delaware.
Alternative viewer if you don’t have glasses
Outside, telescopes and projection screens were set up to provide an amazing eclipse viewing experience. For safety reasons, visitors were not allowed to directly observe the eclipse through telescopes. Instead, the telescope’s view was projected onto a screen, sparking excitement as visitors gathered to catch a glimpse of the image.
Two sunspots were visible through the telescope’s powerful lenses. One of the museum’s guides explained that although the sunspot looked small on the projection, it was actually as large as Earth.
The Natural Science Center also had a station where participants could create their own pinhole viewers. This paper craft allows you to safely observe a solar eclipse by letting sunlight through a small hole and projecting an image onto a surface such as a wall or the ground. Mari Weiss, a Newark resident who calls herself a science geek, remembers her childhood experiments with camera obscura and created her own version based on her pinhole viewer. I made. Weiss said she sees the camera obscura projecting images into a box rather than onto the ground.
Sanjay Krkacek, a science teacher at Shumedil Middle School, was happy to explain how it worked. Like Weiss, Sunjay Kulkacek also created viewers, but his was made from a tissue box.
Krkacek explained that light travels in a straight line, so all the light from the sun comes directly into it. Slightly higher light goes down and slightly lower light goes up. As a result, an image of the sun will be projected through the pinhole. screen. Using this method, you can safely observe and photograph the eclipse without worrying about damaging your camera.
“It’s not as fantastic as looking at it with eclipse glasses, but it’s fun to play with,” Krkacek said. Mr. Kraczek, whose love of science led him to take time off to attend events with his family, is looking forward to discussing this experience with his students and learning about their experiences. he said.
A hub of nature and science
Don Dinsmore, who lives in Garnet Valley, planned to watch the eclipse with his grandchildren, Erin, 3, and Otis, 7, and family friend Quinn Olinger, 14. I was planning hard. Dinsmore, who missed the 2017 solar eclipse, said he is determined not to miss this one. He had bought eclipse glasses for quite some time and had intended to see the entire eclipse. But it was a long drive to get to a location in the path of the totality, so Dinsmore chose to live closer to home.
He was looking forward to bringing his children to this experience and witnessing the peak of the eclipse together. Quinn said he was glad to be out of school for the time being and that his school initially prohibited students from going outside to view the eclipse, so he almost didn’t get to see it. They reversed their decision at the last minute. Erin and Otis peered intently through their glasses before running off to play.
Some attendees may have missed out on the excitement of the event. Four baby rabbits were found hiding in the crowd, their burrow next to the telescope station. A visitor caught a small rabbit and tried to bring it back to its burrow, but the rabbit quickly ran away. Museum staff reassured everyone that the baby rabbit was old enough to fend for itself and would return to its nest once the situation calmed down. An unexpected encounter with a baby rabbit added even more surprise and joy to the memorable solar eclipse viewing experience.
you can cOntact reporter Anitra Johnson ajohnson@delawareonline.com.
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