Is there any better school lesson than what’s happening in the sky on April 8?
Dan , father to two girls , is a self - described “ astronomy grind . ” In 2017 , he took both of his daughters , who were five and seven years old at the time , on a journeying to see the full solar eclipse , driving from their dwelling in northerly Indiana to southern Illinois to be in the path of entirety . The drive took over seven hours — two more than planned because they hit dealings , in all likelihood surround by others with the same idea .
It was the first metre he ’d ever see a full solar occultation and both he and his kids were sweep away by its nobility — a momentaneous spectacle that just could n’t be duplicate on a screen at home .
forward of the total solar occultation pass this April , Dan is once again throng bags and hale the family to southern Indiana the 24-hour interval before the occultation to beat traffic , and he ’s keeping his kid out of school on eclipse day itself , and possibly the next day .
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Dan is one of many parents be after a family trip this April to witnessthe total solar eclipse , and for a good reason : It just does n’t happen that often . On fair , a entire solar occultation occurs once every 18 month , but experiencing one where you are is quite rare . If you stand in one lieu and wait for an eclipse to bump , according to Dr. Michael Kirk , a research scientist at NASA ’s Goddard Space Flight Center , you ’d be hold off about 350 year .
As this April ’s occultation will hap across the US , parents and teacher likewise are trying to figure out the best way to take advantage of this moment with their kids . Some school day districts be after to give pupil a day off so they can consider it however they wish , while others aredistributing occultation glassesand making the case a district - wide stalk body process .
In the northerly half of Chautauqua County , New York — which is inthe path of totality — all schools will be closed , and everyone is further to “ stay off the roads and to remain home ” as a matter of dealings and safe due to what the county anticipate will be a monumental local touristry event . Bell County , Texas , which is also on the path of totality , went beyond closing the school to declare a country of exigency as it prepares for its influx of occultation - gazing visitors .
But most children and teenager in the US will belike be indoors and in class during the eclipse , without as much as a manse passport . ( Some will even be in classroomswithout windows . ) And as many space - loving parent enjoin you , this is too self-aggrandising of an event to wait for for a permission slip to leave campus .
For manyparents in the r / Space Reddit community , family trip for the eclipse have been in the works for a while , with some , like Dan , planning to travel many hour and many miles just to see it from the best viewing station possible . “ I ’m flying with my two schooling - age kids halfway across the country for three twenty-four hour period for it , ” said Redditor JiveDonkey , who ’s heading from Atlanta to Texas . “ I go to Nebraska for the eclipse in 2017 and it was phenomenal . I ’ve been tell apart them I would take them for seven years now . ”
“ We ’re take the youngster out of school for Monday and Tuesday to look on the eclipse at the National Museum of the United States Air Force , ” Redditor WisconsinWolverine explain .
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“ This is a memorable and totally worth it experience , ” enounce one parent , in the Reddit ribbon . “ Will my girl think any random shoal mean solar day for the rest of her life ? No . Will she think of this spectacle of nature ? Absolutely yes . ”
Dad Dane DeValcourt from Lafayette , Louisiana , plans to drive roughly six 60 minutes with his five - class onetime girl to Dallas , Texas . He is n’t really concerned about his tike not being old enough to grasp the construct of a entire solar occultation . To him , move with her to experience it together is more than enough .
“ I ’m particularly fond of carry to her the importance of the stars and sky and moon for pilotage , ” DeValcourt said . “ Being divorced and living apart from her half the sentence , it ’s a meaningful agency for us to connect , knowing we can see the same stars and share the same lunation on the phone despite not being together . ”
Dan is confident partake in this moment with his Thomas Kyd will be well worth pulling them out of school , specially given how much his daughters loved it the first meter . “ They do commemorate the trip , and fondly , ” Dan shared . “ They think of the farseeing car drive , the glasses , and how it got so sinister that street lamp and company signage mechanically came on — and they remember the excitement of an escapade . ”
