Is your family having an eclipse party or are you just planning to look outside during the solar eclipse this August 21st, 2017? Make it more fun (and educational!) by getting your kids involved with a few solar eclipse crafts in honor of this event. This is the first eclipse in the U.S. since 1991, so it's a kind of big deal. Here's how to celebrate it with your kids:
Build a Pin Hole Camera
Photo source: Greg Mote/Flickr
Did you know that looking at the eclipse without proper equipment can hurt your eyes and even cause blindness? Stay safe by making a pin hole camera so your whole family can safely view the eclipse. You'll need two pieces of white card stock, aluminum foil, tape and a safety pin. Cut a hole in the middle of one of the pieces of card stock and tape aluminum foil over the hole. Then, using the safety pin, poke a hole in the middle of the aluminum foil. Place the other piece of card stock on the ground and hold the piece with the aluminum foil above it. Stand with your back to the sun to capture the image onto the piece of card stock on the ground. Now you can view the eclipse safely!
MakeYour Own Solar Eclipse
Use construction paper to make a sun. Decorate the sun with glitter, stickers, colored tissue paper or whatever your heart desires. Then connect a Popsicle stick to the bottom. Next, make a moon out of black construction paper and decorate that using glitter, paint, or whatever you can think up. Attach another Popsicle stick at the bottom. Now, reenact the eclipse by making the moon go in front of the sun and recreate the experience again and again and again.
Create a Light Show
Photo source: Cazary Borysiuk/Flickr
Make your own solar eclipse in your bedroom! Just turn the lights off and shine a flashlight at the wall. Next, use a quarter to act as the moon and see what happens to the light on the wall when the quarter is in front of the flashlight.Experiment with full and partial eclipses.
These solar eclipse crafts will keep you and your family busy until the actual eclipse happens. Also, check out this fun eclipse quiz to find out how much you really know about this rare event.