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Visitors at Hot Springs National Park watching the total eclipse safely. NASA / Julie Hoover.
A team effort
Helping the public safely enjoy the April 8, 2024 total solar eclipse at national park sites was a team effort. Earth to Sky — which fosters collaboration between NASA and the National Park Service — supported park sites in the eclipse's path with resources to make their eclipse programs more engaging and accessible. Two of its partners, Cris White and Devon Camillieri, told the story of the work at Hot Springs National Park in Arkansas.
That day, almost all of the continental United States saw at least part of the Sun, Moon and Earth come into alignment. Thousands came to Hot Springs — one of only two national parks in the path of totality — to see the eclipse somewhere steeped in history, nature and culture, and to meet experts from the park, NASA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and Earth to Sky.
Earth to Sky members and partners with a Hot Springs ranger on eclipse day; Cris White and Devon Camillieri are second from right and right. Earth to Sky / NASA.
The countdown week
In the week before, Earth to Sky brought facilitators and experts from NASA's Earth Science Division, NASA's Science Activation program and NOAA's Space Weather Office to help park staff with an ambitious schedule across the community.
| Where | What | Reached |
|---|---|---|
| Schools, public and private, over three days | Elementary students acted out an eclipse with stuffed Sun, Earth and Moon toys and learned how solar viewers protect their eyes. Middle and high school students learned about NASA eclipse research, internships at NASA and the Park Service, and eclipse-day citizen science | more than 3,700 students |
| Bridge Street Live, the annual street fair, on the night of April 4 | Scientists' talks on space weather, eclipse dynamics and how eclipses affect Earth; tables with activities, solar viewers and giveaways | more than 1,500 people |
| The public library, four presentations | For adults: eclipse safety, citizen science with NASA's GLOBE Observer app, and space weather monitoring. For families: building mock satellites, kinesthetic astronomy and basic eclipse science | almost 70 people |
| Ouachita Baptist University and National Park College | Eclipse science, space weather monitoring and near-Earth communications | 225 students |
| A retirement community | A panel on NASA and NOAA science and citizen science — some residents had researched the panelists beforehand | more than 500 people |
| Lake Ouachita State Park, two weekend evenings | Stargazing with NASA, Park Service and state park astronomy experts; finding constellations with a star chart; deep-space views through the local astronomical society's telescopes | 280 people |
Families learning to stargaze. Julie Hoover / NASA.
Eclipse Fest and eclipse day
- Eclipse Fest: in the two days before the eclipse, more than 8,600 people gathered on the park's historic Arlington Lawn to learn about Earth science, space weather and eclipse safety. Children and adults made an aurora, built a satellite, looked at the visible spectrum, tried LightSound devices and tactile plates, watched sunspots in real time and made ultraviolet-detecting bead bracelets.
- Eclipse day: on Monday, April 8, almost 4,000 eclipse chasers came. The Park Service ran three official viewing stations — on Hot Springs Mountain, West Mountain and Arlington Lawn — each with its own activities. Facilitators helped visitors view the Sun through solar telescopes and pinhole projectors, tracked the temperature through the eclipse, and offered quizzes, coloring and a chance to record what people saw of the corona once totality ended. Eclipse Junior Ranger books and activities were hugely popular.
New Eclipse Explorer Junior Rangers taking the pledge on eclipse day. Julie Hoover / NASA.
Built for everyone
From the start, the three agencies planned every event with inclusion in mind, so that every visitor would feel cared for and comfortable and could focus on the sky.
- Solar film canopies at all three stations, tall enough to stand under, let people who use wheelchairs, or who find it hard to hold viewers to their faces, look up in comfort. They were wildly popular — many people used the film to photograph the eclipse — and the team suggests adding signs explaining their purpose next time.
- A low-sensory tent on the busy Arlington Lawn gave shade and relief to everyone, and was especially useful to families and people needing accommodation.
- LightSound, a tool created by Harvard University for Blind and Low Vision communities, turned the changing light into sound, through a speaker at each station. Hearing the pitch shift as the eclipse progressed was powerful.
- Tactile plates in Braille at each station showed the alignment of Sun, Moon and Earth, solar features such as prominences, loops and sunspots, the Sun's layers from core to corona, and recreated drawings of past total eclipses.
A solar film canopy lets visitors watch without holding up special glasses. Earth to Sky / NASA.
A crowd on West Mountain watching the eclipse. Julie Hoover / NASA.
Earth to Sky thanked its partners, the other agencies, the volunteers and Hot Springs National Park for helping make it such a stellar event.
Sources
Based on Cris White and Devon Camillieri (Earth to Sky), "A Stellar Partnership: National Park Service and NASA partner on 2024 Eclipse Programming through Earth to Sky," National Park Service; published by the National Park Service and in the public domain; rewritten in hubnx's own words. Photographs are credited to NASA.
En estas publicacionesHot Springs National Park
Licencia: CC0 1.0 (dominio público) · Adaptado de www.nps.gov
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