Celebrate this once-in-a-lifetime experience, happening April 8
HOUSTON, TX—Eclipses have been occurring on Earth since the formation of the moon—before humans, before dinosaurs, before life as we know it existed. On Monday, April 8, Texas will be at the center of an extraordinary treat: a total solar eclipse, during which millions of people will be looking up in awe at this wondrous celestial event. At HMNS Hermann Park and HMNS at Sugar Land, we’ve got you covered to safely enjoy this phenomenon – which will be the last total solar eclipse visible from the contiguous United States until 2044.
Join us at either HMNS Hermann Park or HMNS at Sugar Land on April 8 to chat with our astronomers and learn more about the eclipse, while safely looking through solar telescopes and taking part in solar crafts and activities. It is important to never look at the sun without using one of these solar telescopes, eclipses glasses, or an eclipse viewer. At HMNS Hermann Park, we’ll also have discounted admission to the planetarium show “Totality Over Texas” inside of our Burke Baker Planetarium, with screenings at 10:30am, 11:30am, and 12:30pm. CE Certified Solar Eclipse glasses, viewing guides, T-Shirts, and other merchandise to enhance the celestial spirit are also for sale in the Museum Store.
Here in Houston, about 94% of the sun will be obscured from view – but visitors wanting the full eclipse experience can participate in our free eclipse briefings in the Planetarium from 1:00 – 3:00pm. These special broadcasts will feature livestreamed updates from museum staff viewing the eclipse directly within the path of totality in Bandera, Texas. HMNS will also be live streaming the totality across all of our social media accounts.
HMNS is especially grateful to Buc-ee’s®️, who has helped us to provide every public K-12 school in Texas with the opportunity to receive FREE shareable and reusable American Astronomical Society (AAS) solar eclipse viewing cards, classroom activities, safety instructions, educational materials, and teacher training opportunities for this special event.
Visit Buc-ee’s®️ Totality over Texas to learn more about this educational initiative and the museum website to stay up to date on information related to the eclipse and HMNS events.
- What: Total Solar Eclipse – Photo Opportunity
- When: 10:30am at HMNS Hermann Park; 10am at HMNS at Sugar Land; Monday, April 8 (and continuing until eclipse ends)
- 12:20pm: Eclipse begins – sun begins to take on a crescent shape.
- 1:40pm: Maximum coverage – only a small sliver of sun is visible.
- 3:01pm: Eclipse finishes – sun returns to a fully visible circle
- Who:
- Dr. Carolyn Sumners, VP of Astronomy and Physics (available for interviews before April 5)
- Chris Ferguson, Planetarium/Expedition Center Operator (available for interviews on April 8 at HMNS Hermann Park)
- Hannah Lange, Program Manager for George Observatory (available for interviews on April 8 at HMNS at Sugar Land)
- Where:
- Houston Museum of Natural Science
5555 Hermann Park Dr, Houston, TX 77030
(Front plaza/sundial and Burke Baker Planetarium) - Houston Museum of Natural Science at Sugar Land
13016 University Blvd, Sugar Land, TX 77479
- Houston Museum of Natural Science
For questions, please contact Sami Mesarwi at smesarwi@hmns.org or (281) 684-0430.
About Houston Museum of Natural Science
The Houston Museum of Natural Science—one of the nation’s most heavily attended museums—is a centerpiece of the Houston Museum District. With four floors of permanent exhibit halls, and the Wortham Giant Screen Theatre, Cockrell Butterfly Center, Burke Baker Planetarium and George Observatory and as host to world-class and ever-changing touring exhibitions, the Museum has something to delight every age group. With such diverse and extraordinary offerings, a trip to the Houston Museum of Natural Science, located at 5555 Hermann Park Drive in the heart of the Museum District, is always an adventure.
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Buc-ee’s® Totality over Texas
Buc-ee’s® and HMNS team up for a Solar Eclipse Education Initiative
On Monday, April 8, 2024, millions of Texans will be fortunate enough to observe a magnificent event: a total solar eclipse. What’s more, the eclipse’s path of totality will travel directly over Texas, an event that hasn’t occurred since the last Texan total eclipse in 1878. So, for many of the children witnessing this historic event, it will be their first time seeing a total solar eclipse with such deep coverage (another happened in 2017, though the path of totality didn’t run through Texas), or possibly even seeing an eclipse of any kind.
To mark this historic occasion, HMNS and Buc-ee’s® are teaming up to provide every public K-12 school in Texas (over 5 million students enrolled) with the opportunity to receive a FREE solar eclipse viewing kit for this special event. These kits include shareable and reusable American Astronomical Society (AAS) approved solar eclipse viewing cards, classroom activities, safety instructions, educational materials, and training opportunities for Texas educators.
“Education is our mission,” said Nicole Temple, VP of Education for HMNS. “Being able to help children across the state of Texas understand not only the science behind the eclipse and what makes it rare, but also to provide the tools and resources to view it safely, is really special. We are creating such a unique opportunity for educators to help students see science in action. We’re incredibly grateful to Buc-ee’s® in helping us provide these valuable resources for so many students to observe such an awe-inspiring experience.”
Here in Texas, learning about the Earth-Sun-Moon system is required in K-12 schools. The April 8 total solar eclipse will single-handedly bring astronomy textbooks to life for those students spending countless hours in the classroom studying curriculum. HMNS’s goal is to ensure – by way of these kits – that every student has the opportunity to capitalize on this momentous learning opportunity and that every educator is equipped to teach and safely facilitate the viewing of the solar eclipse for each of their students.
“We’re thrilled to partner with the Houston Museum of Natural Science for such a unique initiative that is helping further science education across Texas. The upcoming eclipse is a rare opportunity to witness science in action and a memorable way to bring the classroom to life. We hope that these viewing kits will help pave the way for students to become civic scientists on April 8 and allow them to experience the thrill of discovery,” said Arch “Beaver” Aplin III, Buc-ee’s® founder and CEO.
Get ready for a magical event that’s almost 150 years in the making, Texas – and don’t forget to use those viewing cards when looking up at the sky on April 8.
