Solar Eclipse

Photo above courtesy of Fracia Workman.

Solar Eclipse

Article and photos by Madison Zvolanek

Southern Public Schools did a lot for the total solar eclipse that we were lucky to see on August 21st, 2017. The Friday before the eclipse, we had a presentation from our science teachers, Ms. Dunekacke and Mr. Tunick. They explained what we would need to do for the eclipse, and what it could do if we did take off our glasses. A person could go blind from staring at the sun, it could also affect someone later on in life unexpectedly, so it was important for us to learn about the precautions we needed to take. ..

The day of the eclipse we had school until around 11:30, and then everyone went to the lunchroom to get a sack lunch. We all went outside to our new parking lot, and we all sat around with our friends and ate our lunches. After everyone was done eating, we just hang out outside with our eclipse glasses on. When we would look at the sun with our glasses on, we could see the moon start to cover the sun. We did experiments with little pieces cut out of paper plates so we could see the moon’s shadow. We also mad bracelets as a school. When Mr. Tunick and Ms. Dunekacke blew the horns for us to take off our glasses and experience totality, it was all dark, but it also looked like there was a 360 degree sunset. Many people were in awe by the sight, and many people were taking pictures of it, even though they said it could burn your camera, but it didn't ruin any of ours. When they blew the horn again, that meant we had to put our glasses on again.

Experiencing the eclipse with my school was really inspiring, and I hope the path of totality can be seen from Wymore again someday.