Manchester Township School District provided its elementary school students with solar eclipse-safe glasses to view the astronomical event. Teachers took the children outside to see the partial eclipse, drawing the phases they were witnessing, journaling about the eclipse, and having conversations with peers. Despite some cloud cover in Ocean County, the students were able to observe the sun being about 90 percent covered by the moon at the peak of totality.
At Regional Day School, students also received glasses and created special art from paper plates to go with their glasses. This helped prevent them from accidentally looking over their glasses. There were conversations with students, families, and Manchester staff during dismissal about what the students learned about the eclipse in school and how they safely witnessed it with protective glasses.
Overall, it was an interactive day of learning for the students and staff of Manchester Township. This unique experience captured a moment that will not happen again for 20 years. Instead of turning the solar eclipse into a day of picnics and parties, the students had the opportunity to engage in a live science lesson provided by their school district.
