In anticipation for the solar eclipse on April 8, The Aiken County Public Library held an Eclipse Program which featured an educational presentation and guided crafts including handmade eclipse viewing boxes.
“It’s all really important because it shows kids the bigger world up there, and we can tie in STEM and STEAM activities, which we’re really big on,” Youth Services Librarian Marie Davidsohn said. “It’s just a great way to bring people together, especially since the kids are on spring break.”
“Eclipses are cool and it’s a chance to teach people about science and get them excited about STEM fields,” Library Manager Jessica Christian said.
She noted that she’d like the children in attendance to know that they are capable of studying things like eclipses. “That’s something you can go into, the field of studying eclipses. So I think it’s important for them to know that’s out there.”
The eclipse on Monday will be a 76% partial eclipse in Aiken, per Christian, but some families who came to the program plan to travel to areas where the eclipse will be covering the sun up in its entirety. Stacy Harmon and her daughter Fiona will be visiting Illinois to see this natural phenomenon in its totality.
“We’re traveling to actually see the full eclipse,” said Harmon. “So we thought [this] would be good preparation for her.”
One mother, Wendy Hausrath, spoke about why she brought her son to the event: “I want him to know about the world around him and feel a connection to nature and understand what happens on that day, and take an interest in natural phenomena…And maybe next time, he’ll be interested again.”
