Sky will be main subject at schools Monday

Local educators see Monday's solar eclipse as a chance for students to connect with science.

Many schools across Northwest Arkansas plan to provide students the protective glasses they need to view the partial eclipse, which will peak at 1:12 p.m. Monday. The moon is expected to obscure up to 91 percent of the sun in this region.

The Springdale School District began preparing for the event in the spring when it arranged to purchase 25,000 pairs of protective glasses, said Jake Beers, an elementary school science teacher on special assignment for the district. Springdale serves more than 22,000 students.

The district bought the glasses at a discounted rate from Explore Scientific, a Springdale company, Beers said. The cost was $6,859, according to Kelly Hayes, district comptroller.

"We knew it was a big opportunity to provide our kids the chance to see this natural phenomenon and launch them into a sense of wonder for the year," Beers said. "We wanted to make sure we provided all students the opportunity."

The Bentonville, Fayetteville and Rogers school districts also are making glasses available to students and allowing them to experience the eclipse -- provided the weather cooperates.

Alan Wilbourn, a spokesman for the Fayetteville School District, estimated the district's schools bought a combined 10,000 pairs of glasses at 25 cents each, which comes out to $2,500 total. A couple of schools got glasses free after their teachers attended a summer professional development meeting, he said.

Gail Nebben, a science teacher at Fayetteville's McNair Middle School, said her sixth-graders will analyze data -- temperature changes, wind direction and speed and cloud coverage -- collected from grant-funded weather stations the school received last year. The data will be input on the NASA Citizen Scientist portal after the eclipse.

"We will not be having the children physically collecting data during the eclipse as we want them focusing on observing the phenomenon and respecting safety standards at all times," Nebben wrote in an email.

The Rogers district didn't have a complete cost compilation for all glasses it will distribute Monday, but a bulk order of 7,000 glasses was placed for the 15 elementary schools at 33 cents each, or $2,310 total, said Ashley Siwiec, director of communications.

Beth Pesnell, an elementary and middle school math and science curriculum specialist for the Rogers School District, collected educational resources related to the eclipse and posted them on the district's website, mainly for teachers but also for the public. It's up to each teacher to determine how to incorporate the eclipse into her instruction, she said.

The eclipse is an amazing natural phenomenon, she said.

"This is part of being a scientifically literate citizen and just appreciating science beyond what we get in the classroom," Pesnell said. "This is one of those once-in-a-lifetime opportunities they'll walk away always remembering."

The Bentonville School District organized what it's calling "One District, One Phenomenon." Katherine Auld, an astronomy instructor at Northwest Arkansas Community College, suggested taking a page from the "One District, One Book" program Bentonville does each year, where students are provided a copy of the same book to read, said Jacqui Lovejoy, science instruction specialist for grades five through eight.

Auld led the district to a reputable supplier of protective glasses. Bentonville, which began the school year with more than 17,000 students, ordered 20,000 pairs. That cost the district about $6,600, according to Leslee Wright, communications director.

Bentonville's Ignite students got involved, with one student designing the artistry for the glasses frames. Other students made publicity posters and a short safety video that will be shown at all the schools prior to the eclipse, Lovejoy said. Ignite is a high school program that immerses students in real experiences in a professional environment with support from a facilitating teacher and professional mentors.

It is never safe to look directly at the sun with the naked eye. The only safe way to look at the sun, even in a partial eclipse, is through special-purpose solar filters such as eclipse glasses, hand-held solar viewers and some types of welder's shades, according to the Arkansas Department of Health.

Monday marks the first day of fall semester classes for both the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville and Northwest Arkansas Community College.

The university's Associated Student Government will hold a free cookout on the Union Mall from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., and glasses will be given out to view the eclipse, courtesy of the Pat Walker Health Center and Mertins Eye and Optical, according to a university news release.

Glen Akridge, a science faculty member at Northwest Arkansas Community College, will present a lecture on eclipses at noon Monday in room 108 of the Becky Paneitz Student Center; outside viewing of the eclipse will begin at 12:30 p.m. Eclipse glasses will be provided, along with telescope viewing and other demonstrations, according to a college news release.

NW News on 08/20/2017