On April 8, the moon’s shadow will sweep over southern Illinois and barely miss Chicago as it eclipses the sun. The next time a solar eclipse will be seen from the contiguous United States is 2044.
But the city will still experience a partial eclipse that day between 12:51 and 3:22 p.m. At precisely 2:07 p.m., the moon will cover up to 94% of the sun seen from the area.
Encuentra gafas solares y construye tu propio proyector para el próximo eclipse
Across the Chicago area, there are plenty of ways that children, families and enthusiasts can prepare for the big day — from informational programming to workshops for assembling pinhole projectors to giveaways of solar eclipse viewing glasses.
Finding glasses
The American Astronomical Society website at eclipse.aas.org/eye-safety/viewers-filters has a list of vendors and manufacturers that sell safe solar glasses or handheld viewers. But the list is not exhaustive, so if sellers are not included it doesn’t necessarily mean their products are unsafe, but caution should be exercised to avoid buying counterfeits.
Some locations of certain retail chains also sell safe solar viewing glasses in-store, including Lowe’s, Menards, Meijer, Kroger, Cracker Barrel and dozens of Mariano’s stores. Warby Parker storefronts will give away free, certified solar viewing glasses from April 1 through April 8 or until stock runs out. The company has locations in six Chicago neighborhoods: Andersonville, Lincoln Park, West Loop, Gold Coast, Wicker Park and Lakeview, as well as suburban locations in Naperville, Oak Brook, Schaumburg and Skokie.
Eye health services provider MyEyeDr. has partnered with the nonprofit Prevent Blindness to give away thousands of free, safe solar eclipse viewing glasses in 20 states, including at 37 locations in Illinois. Find a complete list at myeyedr.com/events.
The lead-up
Some public libraries in the Chicago suburbs will give out free glasses through the STAR Library Network managed by the Space Science Institute. A map with participating locations can be found at scigames.org/eclipse/map in the Solar Eclipse Activities for Libraries website.
In the city, some Chicago Public Library branches will also give out viewing glasses as part of their programming. Other branches will help patrons make their own solar eclipse viewers and pinhole projectors, which allow sunlight to pass through holes on a cardboard box, index card or pasta colander to project the sun’s crescent shape in a grid pattern as the moon covers it.
The North Pulaski branch at 4300 W. North Ave. will host a family story time from 11 a.m. to noon on March 25 and then again on April 1. Solar eclipse viewers will be distributed at both events as well. There will be a bilingual workshop on April 1 for kids 4 and up to assemble solar glasses at the Gage Park branch, 2807 W. 55th St.
On April 2, children 6 and up will be able to make pinhole projectors with cereal boxes at the Edgewater branch, 6000 N. Broadway. On April 4, the Lozano branch at 1805 S. Loomis St. will have a preparation event in English and Spanish for visitors of all ages to learn about solar eclipses and the tools used to observe them.
Children 7 and up can build box viewers at the West Town location, 1625 W. Chicago Ave., two days before the eclipse on April 6. Find more eclipse-related programming at public libraries in Chicago on the events page at chipublib.bibliocommons.com/v2/events.
At Harvard, a group of astronomers led by Allyson Bieryla has been running workshops through the LightSound project to build boxes that can convert light data from an eclipse into sounds and distribute them to people with limited or total vision loss so they can participate in the moment. A map of over 17,000 LightSound devices all over the country for public and private use can be found at astrolab.fas.harvard.edu/LightSound.html.
The Discovery Center Museum in Rockford will host an eclipse preview event on April 6 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., where children and families can use a flashlight to demonstrate how the LightSound device works and listen to the sounds it makes. Participation is included with the $10 purchase of museum admission.
Eclipse day
The Adler Planetarium will have a nonticketed, free viewing event on the Chicago campus April 8 from 12:30 to 3:30 p.m. Depending on the weather, telescopes will be made available outside and staff will give out a limited stock of free solar viewers. Purchasing planetarium entry will also allow visitors to participate in indoor eclipse activities and experiences.
The Museum of Science and Industry will set up telescopes outside and livestream a view of the eclipse from southern Illinois in the Giant Dome Theater; both opportunities are included with the purchase of a museum ticket. The museum will also have telescopes available in satellite locations across the city at Millennium Park, the Michigan Avenue bridge, Oak Street Beach and the DuSable Black History Museum and Education Center.
The Chicago Public Library’s Legler Regional branch at 115 S. Pulaski Road and the Altgeld branch at 955 E. 131st St. will have eclipse viewing parties April 8 when they will give out special glasses courtesy of Adler.
There will be a free eclipse-watching event at Pullman National Historical Park at 610 E. 111th St. in Chicago from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. with family friendly activities and the opportunity to run questions by a NASA ambassador on site. A solar filter telescope and a limited supply of free solar viewing glasses will be available to visitors.
Joliet Junior College will host a viewing event on the Event Center lawn of the main campus from 12:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. Solar eclipse viewers, specialized telescopes and projectors will be available. A LightSound device will also be attached to a loudspeaker for people with vision loss to experience the eclipse and changes in light through sound and music.
Check back for updates.
