Comments like “Holy cow!” “Fantastically amazing!” and “Whoa!!” were the indicators that The St. Petersburg College Planetarium’s solar eclipse event on August 21 at the Gibbs campus was a blazing success. More than 2,000 people of all ages showed up to enjoy the free eclipse glasses, look through the college’s high-powered telescope and use their own homemade viewing devices.
Jennifer Jackson of St. Petersburg checked her kids out of school to attend the event after prepping them with some background science about a solar eclipse.
“I thought it would be cool for the kids to see it with a group of people,” Jackson said. “They loved it and thought it was really cool. We’d talked about it and shown them pictures, but I don’t think anything really prepares you for actually seeing it happen.”
In today’s world, where opinions are so hugely divided, the event brought crowds of people from all walks of life together to share an awe-inspiring experience.
“It was a really positive vibe,” Jackson said. “Everyone was friendly and people were sharing glasses and viewing boxes.”
Local educator John Stewart agreed in an interview with WTPS News.
“It really puts things in perspective,” Stewart told WTSP News. “You’ve got your little worries and concerns, and they’re important, but there’s a bigger picture here, and something like this reminds you of it.”
Planetarium Director Dr. Craig Joseph, who also gave three 30-minute lectures on the eclipse prior to the event, estimated that around 2500 people turned up for the event.
“We had about 850 eclipse glasses and viewers in total, and they were gone within an hour,” Joseph said. “And even with the long lines, I’m pretty sure everybody got a view through a telescope. A lot of people enjoyed watching it on the TV monitor, too.”
SPC’s Tarpon Springs Campus also offered viewing opportunities for the North County community, with their event providing viewers and telescopes. Professor Antonio Paris was there to discuss the science behind the solar eclipse.
“The event was awesome,” Paris said. “We had close to 300 guests, including many children. I had the opportunity to demonstrate how eclipses work and, more importantly, how children – as well as adults – could build their own eclipse-viewing tools from scratch.”
Paris said it was a great opportunity for guests to interact with SPC faculty and staff.
“This was a once in a life time event for all of us,” Paris said. “So I was very excited to have participated in it with my SPC family.”
Check out our gallery of photos on Facebook.
https://www.facebook.com/stpetecollege/photos/a.10156404279978368.1073742010.164802438367/10156404281603368/?type=3&theater