Link on our website: https://www.nysacademy.org/eclipse-2024-press-release/
The National Youth Science Academy (NYSAcademy) in Tucker County on Route 48 just outside of Davis hosted a solar eclipse event on Monday, April 8th. About 450 people attended the event throughout the day. Students from Tucker Valley Elementary Middle School, Davis Thomas Elementary Middle School, the Mountain Laurel Learning Cooperative, homeschoolers, and other visitors participated.
Students enjoyed numerous activities – including an inflatable dome planetarium show, homemade pinhole cameras to view the eclipse, and a talk by Dr. Ryan Haupt, Executive Director of NYSAcademy, on women in STEM featuring WV’s own Katherine Johnson in particular. Students also made science-related projects in the MakerSpace – including eclipse masks on the laser engraver and bracelets that helped demonstrate the Purkinje effect, where red colors appear darker relative to other colors as the light levels decrease during an eclipse event.
Jerod Caligiuri, Assistant Professor of Mathematics and Physics at Davis and Elkins College, led instruction and hands-on demos on the science of eclipses, including viewing the eclipse through a telescope with a sun filter for safety. Astronaut snacks such as cured meats from The Charm Farm in Beverly, local jerky, and dried fruits were provided for all to enjoy.
“We couldn’t think of a better way to spend such an important astronomical moment!” said April Miller of the Tucker County Family Support Center, who helped organize the event and make it such a success.
Ryan Haupt commented that: “Solar eclipses provide a rare opportunity to really feel our place in the universe. They’re a great chance to put our phones away and experience a cosmic event as a brief moment of shared awe and we are so grateful to have been able to enjoy this time with the local community.”
Many thanks to NASA WV Space Grant Consortium and the Parker Solar Probe for providing funds and eclipse glasses for this event.