Educators, police prepare for solar eclipse

Posted on August 21, 2017

By Eric Stock

BLOOMINGTON – Many local schools are hoping to make today’s total solar eclipse a teachable moment.

Benjamin Elementary in Bloomington received a Beyond the Books Education Foundation grant to buy safety glasses for students and staff and conduct science experiments related to the celestial event.

“These students will not be simply acquiring information about the eclipse,” teacher Christine Sewell said. “They will be using data they collect to discover how the eclipse impacts us.”

Unit 5 Superintendent Mark Daniel is advising caution. He told WJBC’s Patti Penn most students will be inside during the eclipse to prevent eye damage.

“We are telling our teachers and our principals unless it’s been a planned activity and they have proper eyewear and so forth, our students need to stay indoors. Daniel said. “That’s a precautionary measure,”
PODCAST: Listen to Patti’s interview with Daniel on WJBC.

Cloud cover could hinder plans to view the total solar eclipse. WMBD meteorologist Lauren Rainson expects mostly cloudy skies with scattered showers on Monday.

“We should get a break in the rainfall during the deepest part of the eclipse, but the cloud cover could make for viewing the solar eclipse very tricky,” Rainson said.

The total solar eclipse in the Bloomington-Normal area will begin at 11:53 a.m. and will peak at 1:18 p.m. when 93 percent of the sun will be blocked by the moon. The eclipse will last until 2:43 p.m. It’s expected to by mostly sunny in Southern Illinois where onlookers will get a better view of the eclipse.

Illinois State Police Trooper Joey Watson said if you are headed south, prepare for lots of traffic,

“We definitely want to encourage them to be as prepared as possible, arrive at their event or their location for the event as early as possible so they are not part of the traffic congestion,” Watson said.

Police urge drivers not to pull over on the side of the road to watch the eclipse and to keep their headlights on during the event.

Illinois State University will be making eclipse safety glasses available at several locations on campus from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

Heartland Community College has a full solar eclipse viewing event planned. If the event the eclipse is not viewable outside, the school will host NASA’s live stream in the Astroth Community Education Center auditorium.

Eric Stock can be reached at [email protected].

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