Kennesaw Mountain High School to Broadcast Live Eclipse Show with High-Powered Telescope on Monday, August 21 starting at 2:00 pm.
While students across the country will tune into NASA’s broadcast coverage of the eclipse Monday, August 21, Cobb County School District (CCSD) students will have the opportunity to watch a live, locally broadcast, eclipse show—produced by students, for students, making staying late at school that day a worth while endeavor.
Our Cobb County schools across the district will be able to watch Kennesaw Mountain High School’s live show “Teachable Moment: Eclipse Across America.” via IPTV. The show starts at 2:00 pm. The eclipse in our area will occur at 2:26 pm on Monday, August 21.
Members of the KMHS video production class will broadcast live images from the telescope mounted in an observatory in the school’s courtyard. In addition to the real-time eclipse telescope images, the show will include educational segments from KMHS staff and students. There will be breakaways with “Science Kid,” sophomore Matthew Brown, who will give live updates from NASA’s Citizen Scientist project regarding observed environmental changes across the country. The show will also include student-produced stories and select NASA programming.
During the eclipse, KMHS Stargazers club students will be conducting experiments including viewing the eclipse via a 3D printed pinhole camera, observing animal reactions, and taking temperature readings.
A 2015 Cobb Tank grant awarded to KMHS astronomy teacher Berkil Alexander helped fund the construction of the high school’s telescope observatory, which will serve as a backdrop for the live show. Berk Alexander, KMHS physics and astronomy teacher, was awarded two separate grants totaling $12,500 dollars. The grants went toward the setup of a KMHS Observatory which was donated by a KMHS parent.
Principal, Mark Trachtenbroit advises that NASA has curated a strong collection of informational resources on the eclipse. We recommend accessing this site for eclipse questions you may have regarding safety, timing, resources and more. https://eclipse2017.nasa.gov/. And, bring your pets indoors during the period of the eclipse, it can affect their eyes too.
Don’t have solar eclipse glasses to protect your eyes? Have a shoebox? Here is a project you can do with the kids tonight. Simple, fast, easy: https://youtu.be/8oDqUCTlPA4.