Abstract: This presentation will describe an out-of-school program called Solar Eclipse Chasers for children in third through eighth grade. The program consisted of three hour-and-a-half hands-on sessions where children learned concepts about solar eclipses, more generally, and about the one happening in the United States in April 2024. Details about each of the three hands-on sessions and our rationale for their placement within the program will be outlined by the presenters. The three sessions that children participated in taught about the mechanics of solar eclipses, the scale and movement of objects in the solar system as they pertain to eclipses, and the locations of eclipses around the globe. The children were also introduced to two local astronomy researchers during their time in the program. This program was developed and taught to children outside of the path of totality as a way to interest our local area in what was happening, even though we would only be able to view a partial eclipse in April 2024. Data was collected on children’s astronomy interest and knowledge at each session and will be shared with the audience. The presentation will culminate with an explanation of aspects that worked well and not well and recommendations for how to replicate the program in different settings both in and out of school and inside and outside the eclipse’s path of totality.
