Out of this World

ROSALIA - Donning special eclipse-viewing glasses, Rosalia Elementary School fifth-graders took the opportunity Monday, April 8 to see the solar spectacle through dense glasses.

Their "eclipse party" was the culmination of a morning of fun, educational activities.

Fifth-grade teacher Robyn Fjelseth spent the week before Spring Break teaching her pupils all about eclipses and having them prepare an educational event with other elementary students.

Fjelseth fifth-graders made four learning stations with posters - the first was to learn what a solar eclipse was.

"They learned the definition of a corona and the definition of totality," she said.

Fifth-graders explained how the corona blocks out the light from the solar surface, causing white streamers or charged gas to radiate from the surface of the sun.

Fjelseth said the second station had her students teaching others the difference between a partial and total eclipse - and about the range of totality.

Older students were able to learn about a penumbra, or the portion of the moon in which only part of the sun is covered.

"So, they knew we weren't in totality, but that we we're going to see something," she said.

Fifth-graders explained the posters and how the solar eclipse occurs to each group for 5 minutes at each station.

Younger students who came outside for the eclipse party were give a booklet. And at each station, they took notes on what they learned.

High school science teacher Clif Marr had solar eclipse glasses donated for each student, so each was able to put on their glasses, get a prize and view the solar eclipse.

"I heard one student yell 'this is the best day of my life," Fjelseth said.

While waiting for stations, Fjelseth led younger students in a game of "Astronaut Says," a version of "Simon Says" geared towards learning about the science of space. "We orbited, turned around in circles or moonwalked.

"We shot up like a shooting star and shined like the sun."

Fifth-graders invented an eclipse ball game, with a painted earth as the center and rings around it where students threw sun frisbees and moon inflatable balls to win 10 points.

The students also created a photo booth, featuring an astronaut and an eclipse that students could put their head through and take pictures.

"The fifth-graders did everything," Fjelseth said, "Cut out the books, painted the photobooths, painted the game."

Fjelseth said this was the fifth-graders' opportunity to put on an event and get excited about science.

They even celebrated after their hard work by drinking Tang, an orange-flavored drink used by early NASA crews during space flights.

Students also used puffy paints to decorate T-shirts with a white circle with yellow around it.

"A fun eclipse shirt they got to keep," she said.