BUFFALO, N.Y. — Three months to the day ahead of the April 8th total solar eclipse, Buffalo's astronomy community is making plans for the big moment.
"It's an exciting event, I think for anybody," Buffalo State University Planetarium Director Kevin Williams said. "One of our roles has been to work with other organizations, to help kind of let people know what's happening. That it's this big event that you have to plan for, you can't just wake up on April 8th and figure out what you're going to do that day."
Williams showed us on the big screen, what our view of the total solar eclipse will look like here in Buffalo.
"What's good about the eclipse is that you don't have to be at a specific location to view it," he said. "You just have to be in the path of totality. So that might be your backyard, it might be outside of where you work. It might be a group event like we're having here at Buffalo State."
Starting next month, the Whitworth Ferguson Planetarium will host a series of events to educate people about and celebrate the coming of the eclipse, including a lecture from an internationally known expert named "Mr. Eclipse," a beer tasting event called "Eclipse and Sips," and weekly eclipse shows for families.
"We have a lot of school groups coming in, and we're really excited that we've been partnering with Buffalo Public Schools with their science department, so all of the fourth graders in Buffalo have been and will continue to be coming to learn about the eclipse," Williams said. "Starting in a couple months, all of the earth science high school classes are going to be coming to the planetarium to learn about the eclipse."
Williams added that they are partnering with M&T Bank to provide eclipse glasses to all Buffalo Public School students, teachers, and staff.
On the big day, Buffalo State will have a big public event at the football field.
"We're going to be having what we're calling Eclipse Fest," Williams said. "It's an event over at our football field at Coyer Field. We're going to have entertainment and information about what's happening with the eclipse."
Tickets will be available soon, and the event will be moved inside in the case of bad weather.
"It's going to be an opportunity to get together with a few thousand of your closest friends and have this once in a lifetime experience," he said. "I think whether it's cold that day or beautiful and sunny, it's going to be a great event."
Stay up to date with the Whitworth Ferguson Planetarium's eclipse-related events through their website.
