Hello everyone! As you probably know there will be a total solar eclipse over parts of America on Monday! (I unfortunately am not in the path of totality, BUT I am in the 85% range!)

My family decided to have a solar eclipse party! We have invited 3 other homeschool family’s!

So I wanted to show you some of the things that we have been doing to prepare for our party!

 

How much do you know about solar eclipses Pop Mini Quiz!

Looking up the answers is not allowed!

Answers listed at the end of this post

1. Why does the sun look bigger then all other stars?
2. What is the part of the sun that you can see during a total solar eclipse?
3. Is it safe to look directly at sun during a solar eclipse?
4. True or False: During a solar eclipse the temperature drops a little bit.
5. When is the next solar eclipse in America?

Make sure to grab a piece of paper and record your answers, then compare them with the answers at the end of this post!

 

DIY Solar Eclipse T-shirts!

Don’t these T-shirts just look fabulous! My mom did most of them and I think they look awesome!

1. Get a solid black T-shirt (we got ours at Walmart)
2. Cut a piece of thick cardboard and slip it inside your T-shirt, this protects the back in case any paint bleeds through.
3. Get some fabric spray paint (we used Tulip Gold and Tulip Gold Sparkle, found at Jo-Ann Fabrics)
4. Trace a plate or other round object onto some cardboard. Cut out carefully. This will be the circle on your T-shirt.
5. Using a hot glue gun “draw” “2017” onto a piece of parchment paper, make sure all of the numbers are connected. Let the hot glue dry.
6. Take the circle and center it on the T-shirt (Note: Hold the cardboard circle in place while spraying, if you are young ask someone to hold it for you and help you spray)
7. Spray lightly around the circle with gold, make sure to leave room for the 2017!
8. Hold down the 2017 and spray around it with either gold or gold sparkle.
9. Add some sparkle to your T-shirt if you want!

   

10. Let the shirt dry completely then put it on and watch The Great American Solar Eclipse!

Here is the finished T-shirt

How to safely view a solar eclipse!

• Using Solar Eclipse Viewing Glasses
• Making a pinhole viewfinder (see below)

These are all safe and great ways to view the eclipse. Be sure not to look at the sun without your Solar Eclipse Viewing Glasses, as it could damage your eyes.

You CAN look at the sun once it reaches totality but only if you are in one of the areas that will reach totality!

Make a pinhole viewfinder!

This is a really easy craft where you can project the sun and watch the solar eclipse without Solar Eclipse Viewing Glasses

1. To make the pinhole viewer take a piece of white cardboard and cut it 8″by 8″
2. Punch a hole with a needle or pin in the center of the cardboard.

How it works:

• Stand with your back to the sun and hold the pinhole viewfinder.
• Watch the projection of the sun under the viewfinder.
• You can easily and safely watch the eclipse like this!

 

How a solar eclipse works game!

This is a really fun game to play with 3-4 kids! You will need 3 people to hold up the props and perhaps another person to choreograph everything. 

Note: We will make the Sun, Moon, and Earth then play the game.

1. To make the props you will need a very large bowl, a medium bowl, and a smaller bowl. The Sun will be made from the largest bowl, the earth from the medium bowl and the moon from the small bowl.
2. Trace around the top of your bowl onto a piece of thick white cardboard. Do this for all 3 of your bowls. Cut out the 3 circles.
3. Using acrylic paint, paint the circles, yellow for the sun, blue and green for earth, and gray for the moon. Let dry.

Time to play!

• Gather 3-4 people together and have each person choose a circle.
• Line up the people so that the earth and the sun are facing each other.
• Have the moon go and cover up the sun, creating a solar eclipse!

If you have very small kids it is a good idea to play this game before the eclipse, when the eclipse comes the kids will know what is going on!

The answers to the pop quiz!

Question in bold  Answer in italic

1. Why does the sun look bigger then all of the other stars? Because the sun is a lot closer then any of the other stars.
2. What is the part of the sun that you can see during a total solar eclipse? The corona. 
3. Is it safe to look at the sun directly during a Solar Eclipse? No, it is not safe to look at the sun, UNLESS you are in the path of totality and only when the eclipse is in totality. Otherwise you could seriously damage your eyes!
4. True or False: The temperature drops a little bit during a solar eclipse? True, the temperature will drop a little, you will be able to feel it, but you won’t need a coat!
5. When is the next solar eclipse in America? April 8th 2024, in 7 years.

I hope you had fun reading this post and doing the activity’s! I sure had fun making this post! Have a great weekend! Happy Friday to all those who have gone back to school this week!

P.S. I now have 30 followers! Help me get to 50 and we will have a celebration!