- This event has passed.
Solar Eclipse Viewing
April 8, 2024 @ 2:30 pm - 4:00 pm
An incredible sight is coming to North American skies in 2024: a total solar eclipse!
The eclipse on April 8th is so special that ORCSD has announced an early release that day.
Solar eclipses happen about every 18 months, but they usually aren’t visible from populated areas. Often, the path of totality falls over vast oceans or uninhabited regions. The 2024 eclipse is different—it will be trekking across North America for roughly four hours, starting around 1pm and making its way to New Hampshire around 3:30pm.
Pack 459 will be observing this special events with a viewing at Little River Park.
Please arrive at 2:30pm so we have plenty of time to put together our shoebox viewers and assemble outside at our viewing spot.
What to Bring
- Your Class A (button up) or Class B (Pack 459 t-shirt) uniform
- Warm/weather-appropriate clothing
- A shoebox or similar-sized box for making a shoebox viewer. The Pack will provide foil, tape, and notecards. Please feel free to assemble this at-home with your Cub ahead of time.
Earn Your Solar Eclipse Emblem
This special event, visible across the continent, is so exciting that the BSA is offering a commemorative glow-in-the-dark emblem to Scouts who complete these requirements:
- Locate a viewing site for the eclipse.
We’ll be meeting at Little River Park. - Describe how to safely view the eclipse.
Cubs will view the eclipse using two safe methods:- Solar viewing glasses: These specially filtered glasses are the only safe way to look directly at the sun during the eclipse. Pack 459 will supply Cubs who RSVP with the ISO 12312-2 international standard.
- Indirect viewing methods: Bring a shoebox. The pack is providing notecards, tape, and foil. If you like, you can make a shoebox viewer as described in Scout Life magazine at home before our meeting.
- Discuss what you saw and felt during the eclipse.
During a total solar eclipse, the moon acts like a giant cosmic curtain, blocking the sun’s light and plunging the day into an eerie twilight. The closer you are to the exact path of totality, the darker the sky will get. With clear skies, you might even be able to see stars pop out, just like at night. In some places, the sudden darkness can even trick animals into thinking nighttime has arrived, causing them to emerge for a confused pre-dusk meal. - Discuss what a solar eclipse is with your leaders.
We’ll go over the basics with Cubs and color-in a diagram of the positions of the moon, Earth and sun to show how the solar eclipse works.
No Need to RSVP
Please ask your kids to pick up a free pair if they attend Mast Way.
We have approximately 40 pairs of glasses for our homeschoolers, parents, and siblings.
Safely Watching the Eclipse
A guide from the University of New Hampshire Observatory & Astronomy Department
NASA’s 2024 Solar Eclipse Map
Even more information on the eclipse is available at NASA’s official website.