Rainy Day Ideas for the April 8th Solar Eclipse

You’ve been preparing for the upcoming total solar eclipse on April 8th, 2024 for over a year…you’ve made meticulous plans for glasses distributions, become an expert at using solar telescopes and SunSpotters, purchased the Moon Pies and Sun Chips as thematic snacks, and are anxiously awaiting the cosmic show…when you look at the weather forecast and see the dreaded thunderstorm icon.

So, now what?

Pause….take a deep breath…and read on for STAR Net’s favorite suggestions for Rainy Day Back-Up Plans:

Rainy Day Activity Ideas:

Eclipse Chalk Art
Just because you can’t see the eclipse occurring in the sky, doesn’t mean you have to walk home empty handed! Invite families to create their own solar eclipse work of art using black construction paper, paper plates, and chalks or pastels.

Sorting Games: How Big? How Far? How Hot?
If you’ve been a part of the STAR Library Network for a while, you’ll know this is one of our most widely used and favorite hands-on activities! Explore objects in the Universe and work as teams to sort them in size, distance, and temperature. Then come up with your own way of categorizing them!

Kinesthetic Astronomy
Bring the Sun and Moon indoors and create a solar eclipse with your friends! While you’re at it, try making a lunar eclipse. What phases of the Moon are necessary for lunar and solar eclipses? If you have a hula hoop laying around, bust it out for additional fun!

Have you exhausted all of the solar science activities on the Solar Eclipse Activities for Libraries collection from STAR Net? Check out additional activities from the Exploratorium’s eclipse collection!

Be sure to have a projector set up to Livestream the Solar Eclipse from Junction, Texas and Torreón, Mexico with scientists and educators from NASA and the Exploratorium.

LASTLY, pump up the jams on STAR Net’s Solar Eclipse Music Playlist and always keep a lookout on the sky. You never know when the clouds will shift!