Want to go to an eclipse party but not travel too far? The Cosmosphere has you covered.

If they want to be in the path of totality of the April 8 solar eclipse, Kansans will have to travel out of the state, but — if the weather's right — people who stay here will still get a great view of a mostly obscured sun that day.

Across central Kansas, organizations are preparing for this day in different ways, with one of the biggest celebrations happening at the Cosmosphere in Hutchinson, which is hosting a free eclipse viewing party from noon to 3 p.m. on April 8, with attendees getting the chance to see a close-up view of the sun.

"I always tell people, if you have the means...to get down to Oklahoma, Arkansas (or) Missouri, to go (into the path of totality)," said Mary Smith, a STEAM educator at the Cosmosphere. "Being a Monday, travel being expensive and knowing that traffic (around those places) will be insane, if you decide to stay, you're still going to get a partial eclipse here."

In Hutchinson, there will be around 85% peak coverage of the sun, with Salina close behind at 83%, and Smith said even this will be a beautiful sight.

"You will still see the moon moving across, in front of the sun, and you'll get some the phenomenon that goes along with a partial eclipse," Smith said. "It'll start to get dimmer, the light will look different, shadows will start to look different."

Cosmosphere hosting events leading up to and during the solar eclipse

It's not just on April 8 that the Cosmosphere will be having eclipse-related events but will also have a special show in its Justice Planetarium in the days leading up the eclipse.

Smith said "Eclipses Across America" will show and discuss the causes of eclipses, focusing on the Oct. 18, 2023, annular eclipse and the upcoming April 8 eclipse.

One of these showings, at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, April 4, will be free and open to the public, with no entry ticket required. Smith said seating in the planetarium is limited and available on a first-come, first-serve basis for this show.

"I'm just going to take some time to explain to people what to expect here within Hutchinson or the surrounding areas if they're not able to go travel into the path of totality," Smith said.

For those who can't make it to the free showing, the planetarium will also be showing "Eclipses Across America" at 4 p.m. on April 5, 6 and 7 and then just before the main event at 11 a.m. on April 8, but each of these showings will require the purchase of a planetarium ticket.

As for the day of the eclipse, the Cosmosphere will have its event from noon to 3 p.m. in the south parking lot. Smith said the museum is partnering with the Hutchinson Public Library for free eclipse-related events and there will be food trucks on site for people looking for lunch.

Part of the Cosmosphere's event on April 8 will be the opportunity for attendees to use a solar telescope and binoculars that the museum owns.

"We're fortunate to have the equipment we have," Smith said. "(We're excited to) be able to have that available (for people to) get a closer view."

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Smith said some of the things that people might be able to see with these magnified views are sun spots and other phenomenon.

"The sun's been pretty active lately," Smith said. "I was looking through one of the scopes the other day and there were just sun spots galore. So we're hoping on the day of the eclipse we'll have a lot of spots, too."

The Cosmosphere is encouraging people to see the astronomical event for themselves in Hutchinson by bringing their own lawn chairs and eclipse glasses, which will need to be used to look directly at the sun throughout the partial eclipse. The Cosmosphere has eclipse glasses available for purchase in its gift store or online at shop.cosmo.org.

Additionally, glasses can purchased at many retailers and some places, like the Salina Public Library, even have them available for free, while supplies last.

This article originally appeared on Salina Journal: Hutchinson's Cosmosphere hosting events for April 8 partial eclipse