UW Plans Eclipse Activities Across the State

The University of Wyoming is getting involved in the total solar eclipse festivities, with activities planned all across the state to celebrate the eclipse.

UW astronomy and physics professors are planning five public outreach venues during the total solar eclipse, according to a UW news release. The locations include the UW-National Park Service Research Center in Grand Teton National Park, the Central Wyoming Fairgrounds in Casper, Guernsey State Park, Glendo State Park and Boysen State Park.

“We'll be at each site during the morning and early afternoon of Aug. 21,” says Danny Dale, a UW professor and head of the Department of Physics and Astronomy, in a statement. “I personally also will be leading an evening star party Aug. 20 at Boysen, which means letting folks look through the telescope and explaining what they are seeing -- and, similarly, on Monday afternoon, but during the daytime eclipse. And, we’ll be handing out eclipse glasses and UW-emblazoned eclipse T-shirts.”

Aside from the outreach venues on the day of the eclipse, the university is involved in many other eclipse activities before the event.

The UW-NPS Research Center at AMK Ranch in Teton National Park is hosting a public program and barbeque on Thursday, Aug. 17. The barbeque starts at 5:30 p.m. and includes a seminar titled “Eclipses, Einstein, Eddington, and the Shattered Star That Has Yet to Shatter." Outreach activities are also planned for Friday, Aug. 18 and Saturday, Aug. 19 at the AMK ranch.

The  Wyoming NASA Space Grant Consortium will host eclipse activities before the event on Friday and Saturday, Aug. 18-19 at the UW-NPS Research Station at the AMK Ranch. The activities on Friday will be focused more on younger, kindergarten through sixth grade groups of students and will feature hands-on activities aimed at aiding understanding how a solar eclipse works. Saturday’s events will be geared more toward the general public.

The Space Grant Consortium will also have a booth on the day of the eclipse at the Central Wyoming Fairgrounds in Casper.

UW Admissions is planning presentations and campus tours to tie in with the solar eclipse. Prospective students traveling to and from the eclipse path can take advantage of the tours on Aug. 21 and 22. The admission presentations will take place at 9 a.m., 10 a.m., noon, 1 p.m. and 2 p.m. on both days. The tours are scheduled for 10 a.m., 11 a.m., 1 p.m., 2 p.m. and 3 p.m.