Solar Eclipse Fun Facts

• The solar eclipse happens on April 8th, 2024
• The next one won't occur until 2044 (that's a 20-year wait!)
• When the sun is covered by the moon (from our perspective) that's called Totality
• A solar eclipse occurs when the Sun, the Moon, and Earth are aligned - also known as syzygy.

• There could be a 15 degree F drop in temperature during Totality because the Sun provides so much energy to Earth.

WHAT WE ARE MAKING

WHY WE ARE MAKING IT

By using simple materials, students will use light as their medium to express abstract concepts and words. They will then use their canvases as a form of pinhole camera to safely observe the eclipse.

This activity will allow students to safely engage with the solar eclipse as well as learn how to make artistic pinhole cameras.

ACTIVITY MATERIALS

Choose and thoroughly read one of the poems in this slideshow. Sketch on a piece of printer paper imagery that comes to mind when you read the poem. This will inspire your artwork

Using a needle or a pushpin, create a hole in the center of a piece of cardstock. This hole will allow light to travel narrowly through the center of your cardstock and showcase the eclipse. You're essentially creating a pinhole camera!

On the same piece of cardstock, refer back to your poem sketches and create a new work of art that reflects the poem's imagery and your thoughts about experiencing a rare and wondrous historical event.

During the eclipse on April 8th, hold the cardstock (at hip level) over a white paper (on the ground) to watch the progression of the eclipse. Take pictures of your artboards and the eclipse shadows you've created with your modified pinhole camera.

Instructions

1st

2nd

3rd



4th

~1-2 hr

How your pinhole camera works