Skip to main content
COMMUNITY:
Project Descriptions

Navigating the Path of Totality

January 4, 2016 - January 2, 2019 | Exhibitions, Media and Technology, Public Programs

In March of 2016, a total solar eclipse occurred in the southwestern pacific; and in August of 2017, a total solar eclipse occurred across a broad swath of the United States. The Exploratorium launched a 2.5
year public education program—Navigating the
 Path of Totality—that used these two
 total solar eclipses as platforms for
 sparking public engagement and learning 
about the Sun, heliophysics, and the STEM
 content related to both. These sequential
 eclipses provided an unprecedented
 opportunity to build and scaffold public
 engagement and education. Our strategy was to 
start the public engagement process with the 
2016 eclipse, nurture that engagement with
 resources, activities and outreach during the 17
 months between the eclipses, so that audiences (especially in the U.S., where totality was visible in multiple areas across the country) would be excited, actively interested, and prepared for deeper engagement during the 2017 eclipse. For the August 2017 eclipse, the Exploratorium produced live telescope and program feeds from Madras, OR and Casper, WY. The Exploratorium worked with NASA to leverage what was a once-in-a-lifetime experience for millions to bring heliophysics information and research to students, educators, and the public at large through a variety of learning experiences and platforms. The core of this project was live broadcasts/webcasts of each eclipse. To accomplish these objectives, the Exploratorium produced and disseminate live feeds of telescope-only images (no commentary) of each eclipse originating them from remote locations; produce and disseminate from the field live hosted broadcasts/webcasts of each eclipse using these telescope images; design and launch websites, apps, videos, educator resources, and shareable online materials for each eclipse; design and deliver eclipse themed video installations for our Webcast studio and Observatory gallery in the months that lead up to each eclipse and a public program during each eclipse; and conduct a formative and summative evaluation of the project. 
 These broadcasts/webcasts and pre-produced videos provide the backbone upon which complementary educational resources and activities can be built and delivered. Programs and videos were produced in English and Spanish languages. As a freely available resource, the broadcasts/webcasts also provide the baseline content for hundreds if not thousands of educational efforts provided by other science-rich institutions, schools, community-based organizations, and venues. Platforms such as NASA TV and NASA website, broadcast and online media outlets such as ABC, NBC, CBS, CNN, MSNBC and PBS, as well as hundreds of science institutions and thousands of classrooms streamed the Exploratorium eclipse broadcasts as part of their own educational programming, reaching 63M people. These live broadcasts were relied upon educational infrastructure during total solar eclipses for institutions and individuals on the path and off the path alike.

Funders

NASA
Funding Program: Science Mission Directorate Science Education Cooperative Agreement Notice
Award Number: NNX16AB96A
Funding Amount: $1,683,343.00

TEAM MEMBERS

  • REVISE logo
    Principal Investigator
    Exploratorium
  • Robyn Higdon
    Co-Principal Investigator
    Exploratorium
  • Nicole Minor
    Co-Principal Investigator
    Exploratorium
  • Resource Type: Projects | Project Descriptions
    Discipline: General STEM | Space science
    Audience: Educators/Teachers | Evaluators | General Public | Learning Researchers | Museum/ISE Professionals
    Environment Type: Exhibitions | Museum and Science Center Exhibits | Media and Technology | Broadcast Media | Games, Simulations, and Interactives | Websites, Mobile Apps, and Online Media | Public Programs | Museum and Science Center Programs
    Access and Inclusion: Hispanic/Latinx Communities

    If you would like to edit a resource, please email us to submit your request.