What a thrilling way to mark a new school year, with a near total solar eclipse! At the Academy, Middle School students observed the phenomenon first-hand, while Lower School students remained indoors and watched a live-stream recording.
“It started!” was the animated greeting received in the School Office from Middle School students who collected data before, during and after the eclipse as part of a citizen science project for NASA. The aim of the experiment was to “improve our understanding of how solar energy is absorbed and reflected in Earth’s atmosphere.” Conducted across the path of the eclipse, it was part of the GLOBE Program: Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment supported by the National Science Foundation, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the U.S. Department of State. Our gratitude to Mrs. Ahlheim for investigating this opportunity and coordinating the Academy’s participation. Students observed changes in the Earth’s atmosphere by measuring air temperature, changes in cloud patterns and wind speed. In the Middle School science lab,they set up a model of an eclipse with an Earth, moon and flashlight “sun.”
Teachers and our student-researchers in 5th – 8th classes were equipped with safety glasses provided to the Academy by a grant from the Saint Louis Astronomical Society. The goal of their grant program was to promote safe viewing practices and to provide local schools with ISO certified solar glasses. Students received instruction on how to use the glasses as well as the importance of protecting one’s vision during eclipse observation.
Younger classes learned about the eclipse in their classrooms where they participated in activities to represent the celestial event with students playing the role of sun, moon and earth. Mrs. Kaemmerlen introduced the entire Lower School to a sweet cookie-based science lesson that further helped students to understand what they were witnessing via the live-stream of the event. Our sincere appreciation to the anonymous donor who provided funds in support of the students’ commemorative “Total Eclipse at the Heart” t-shirts. It was a fun way to show our school spirit! What a great day at the Academy.
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