Community Eclipse Event
The Mary L. Cook Public Library and Wayne Local Schools are hosting an Eclipse Viewing Event on August 21, 2017. The community is welcome to join our students and staff in our outdoor stadium to view The Great American Solar Eclipse. It is the first time since 1918 a solar eclipse will be visible on a path across the entire continental United States. Waynesville will experience a deep partial solar eclipse; 90% obscuration of the Sun. At 90%, the daylight is quite dim, only 10% of normal and the air will feel cooler, since most of the heat radiation from the Sun is blocked by the Moon. Waynesville will experience maximum obscuration at 2:28 pm, which should last only 1-2 minutes.
With safety as our #1 Rule, Wayne Local Schools has purchased eclipse-safe viewing filters for all students and staff. Looking directly at the sun or eclipse without SAFE FOR DIRECT SOLAR VIEWING (ISO CERTIFIED 12312-2:2015) can damage eye tissue. Students will only be permitted to view through certified eclipse viewers. Other devices such as unfiltered cameras, telescopes, binoculars or other optical devices, with or without glasses will not be permitted. For more information regarding the safety certification of the special viewing filters, please visit https://www.eclipseglasses.com/pages/safety. The viewing filters purchased by Wayne Local Schools came directly from Thousand Oaks Optical a NASA recommended manufacturer and authorized dealer.
We are embracing this learning opportunity and science phenomenon with great excitement; it’s an opportunity for our students to experience an awesome science event first hand. Students will be in place in the stadium at 12:45 pm where Mark Reinemann will do a pre-eclipse presentation lasting approx. 15 minutes. The eclipse will begin at 1:00 p.m. We are also working on providing eclipse updates over the public address system. We will allow our high school and middle school students to see as much as possible, dismissing at our normal time.
Wayne Local Schools has over 2,000 viewers for our students and staff, providing a surplus of 500 or so extra viewers to share with community members. If you have viewers of your own, you are encouraged to bring them to the stadium so that we may allow as many community members as possible to experience this spectacular and rare event. Unfortunately, we will not be able to distribute solar viewers prior to the event. Lawn chairs and blankets may be brought to the stadium. We will end our event after the maximum obscuration (2:28).
Parents will have the opportunity to opt their student out of participating. If you DO NO want your child to participate, please complete an opt-out form at your child’s office during open house or sometime prior to the event on August 21.
Safety considerations for everyone: The only safe way to look directly at the uneclipsed or partially eclipsed Sun is through special-purpose solar filters. If you normally wear eyeglasses, keep them on. Put your eclipse filter on over them, or hold your handheld viewer in front of them. Stand still and cover your eyes with your eclipse solar viewer before looking up at the bright Sun. After looking at the Sun, turn away and remove your filter — do not remove it while looking at the Sun. Our teachers and staff will supervise our students using solar filters; not allowing students to use any filter that is scratched, punctured, torn, or otherwise damaged. We recommend the same for community members. For further information on the safety precautions of the eclipse event, please visit https://eclipse.aas.org/eye-safety/iso-certification.
