Penn State’s SolarFest draws thousands hoping to catch a glimpse of eclipse in cloudy skies

Neither clouds nor rain could keep the crowds away from SolarFest on Monday to try and catch a glimpse of the highly-anticipated total solar eclipse.

The four-hour event at at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park was hosted by Penn State’s Eberly College of Science in partnership with the State College Spikes. Despite the cloud cover obscuring most of the eclipse, more than 8,000 people visited the event to watch rocket launches, learn about the solar eclipse and watch on the video board as it made its way across the U.S.

Randy McEntaffer, head of the astronomy department, said it was overwhelming to see so many members of the community excited about the eclipse and engaging with science and astronomy.

“Our number one goal for this event is to bring that science to the community because it’s one of the easier ways to get our science and what we do out to the public,” McEntaffer said. “To tell them about what we do and show them a little glimpse of our career.”

Alex Fiorillo, a first year Penn State Student and member of the Students for the Exploration and Development of Space group, helped to build one of rockets launched during the event. Fiorillo said events like SolarFest are important to inspire the next generation of scientists.

“This moment for at least one kid could be it — they’d see (the eclipse) through the glasses and they’re like, ‘That’s what I want to do,’” Florillo said. “So it’s great to have events like this and be part of it and to get these kids passionate about science and engineering.”

With several school districts around Centre County dismissing early for the eclipse, kids were a big part of the SolarFest event. Discovery Space and the Eberly College of Science had booths set up for younger students to interact with objects that had been in space and create solar eclipse arts and crafts.

Vincent Wright, a third grader at Easterly Parkway Elementary School, was disappointed he wasn’t able to see the eclipse in person after learning about it in school in the week leading up to SolarFest. But when the next total solar eclipse comes back to the majority of the U.S. in 2044, Vincent said he’ll see it then.

“I’ll probably move somewhere else to watch it,” he said.

Even though many may have missed out on the eclipse from State College, McEntaffer said he hopes the excitement surrounding astronomy and science stays with them.

“If people can’t see the eclipse today, I hope they get that sense of awe from science still,” McEntaffer said. “Just the fact that an event like the eclipse can touch so many people, can reach so many people — it’s something that resonates throughout the public, and I hope that they feel that as well.”