How should I talk to my child about the solar eclipse? Teach kids about what it means to be in the moon’s shadow
Millions of Texans are preparing for the April 8 solar eclipse, along with the influx of tourists expected to travel to the state. Large events, school district closures and county emergency declarations can easily overwhelm adults – so how can guardians best support the children in their care?
Here’s what to know:
Teach kids about protecting their eyes during the solar eclipse
“Don’t stare at the sun!”
Most kids have probably heard that at some point or will hear it in the near future. But for the youngsters, looking at the sun during a solar eclipse might be more tempting than usual.
Peering at the 2024 eclipse without proper eye protection can result in permanent injury to the eyes. Children aren’t immune to this, and it might be worth reminding them of that in the weeks leading up to the big day.
Guidelines for safely viewing the solar eclipse can be found on the American Astronomical Society’s site.
“We do not recommend searching for eclipse glasses on Amazon, eBay, Temu, or any other online marketplace and buying from whichever vendor offers the lowest price,” the site cautions.
It recommends that before buying a solar viewer or filter online, people make sure that the seller is identified on the site they are using and is listed on the American Astronomical Society’s website.
If you buy eclipse glasses, be sure they are made by companies the American Astronomical Society and NASA have certified as safe for use. They should all have the “ISO” (International Organization for Standardization) icon. The glasses also must have the ISO reference number 12312-2.
Several Texas school districts have canceled April 8 classes, anticipating strain on public resources, high traffic and possibly delayed emergency response. However, the day can still be full of education for students as they experience a natural phenomenon that won’t occur again for years.
Michelle Nichols, director of public observing at the Adler Planetarium in Chicago shares an easy way to explain the event to kids.
“At its very simplest, when the moon gets in between the Earth and the sun, and the moon appears to pass over the sun as seen from Earth, then we get a solar eclipse,” Nichols told Scientific American. “If the moon partially covers the sun, we call it a partial solar eclipse. If it completely covers the sun, we call it a total solar eclipse.”
Other information that might be fun for older kids to digest would be how the solar eclipse phenomenon differs from the “new moon,” Jackie Faherty, an astrophysicist and senior education manager at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City, told Scientific American.
The two are similar, but the moon’s orbit around the Earth “is not completely lined up with our planet’s orbit around the sun,” Faherty said. It is actually tilted by about five degrees, so “when the moon moves between Earth and the sun, the three bodies are out of alignment.”
“The moon doesn’t block the sun, and the shadow of the moon cast by the sun lands in space instead of on Earth’s surface.”
NASA has launched “Snap it! An Eclipse Photo Adventure,” a new game that encourages kids to learn about the solar eclipse. Intended for children ages 7 and up, the game is available on any computer with an internet connection.
“The educational Snap It! game features an alien character visiting Earth from a planet that doesn’t experience solar eclipses, which occur when the moon passes between Earth and the sun,” Space.com explains. “The goal of the game is to snap 20 photos of eclipses and other objects that transit, or pass in front of, the sun.”
Ask kids how they feel ahead of the solar eclipse
Though solar eclipses have not proven to have any physical effect on humans, they might induce strong psychological responses, according to a report by NASA.
“For millennia, solar eclipses have been interpreted as portents of doom by virtually every known civilization,” the report states. “These have stimulated responses that run the gamut from human sacrifices to feelings of awe and bewilderment.”
These responses might appear more prominently in children, who are less familiar with eclipses and can experience greater difficulty in regulating their emotions.