Two Queensbury Elementary School third grade classes are chasing the sun on April 8, the day of the solar eclipse.
Kathy Edwards and Samantha Horowitz are taking their classes to SUNY Plattsburgh to view the total solar eclipse, which will be visible in New York State on the afternoon of April 8. Queensbury will only see a partial solar eclipse, whereas Plattsburgh is one of several regions of the state in the direct path of totality.
With eclipse glasses in hand, the students will hop on a charter bus bound for SUNY Plattsburgh. Parents have funded the bus ride, a buffet lunch at the college and the purchase of matching T-shirts designed by the school art teacher Jen Spath.
QES Principal Jessica Rossetti used principal funds to pay for two classroom rentals at SUNY Plattsburgh. The QES PTSA contributed $100 toward the bus deposit. And the class homeroom mom ordered eclipse glasses for the parents and siblings who are going along.
“We have the charter bus going with 12 parents on the bus and then an additional 13 cars following behind!” Edwards said. “I ordered 82 T-shirts!”
Edwards said she hopes the trip will teach her students about eclipses — what causes them, the difference between solar and lunar, how the Earth, moon and sun interact, and how animals act differently during the eclipse.
“The whole experience of a solar eclipse is mind-blowing!” she said. “I've shown them a couple of videos made during the 2017 total solar eclipse, and they are so excited to experience it themselves!”
She is also excited to take the third graders to a college campus and give them a look at what their futures may hold.
“This presents a unique educational opportunity for students to learn about this exciting astronomical event, and an ideal teachable moment for teachers to delve into the wonders of the cosmos,” according to the New York State Education Department.
The next total solar eclipse will not happen in New York again until 2079.
“Holistically, I want students to experience the awe and beauty of the world we live in,” Edwards said. “A total solar eclipse is arguably the most spectacular show of the natural world.”