GENTRY -- For those who wish to know the source of all those filtered glasses used by the schools to view the Aug. 21 solar eclipse, they were provided by the Gentry Public Library and distributed through the library to Gentry Public Schools.
According to Darla Threet, the library distributed 250 pairs at the library and supplied Gentry Schools with glasses for the children to use during eclipse viewing activities. She said people were still coming into the library for glasses up until the eclipse.
Gentry Public Library joined together with more than 1,000 libraries across the country to participate in what some have called the celestial event of the century, the Aug. 21 solar eclipse. During this event, the moon completely blocked the view of the sun across a narrow band of the U.S. from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic in a spectacle that hasn't occurred in decades. The last total solar eclipse for the United States was nearly 40 years ago. The event was aptly named the Great American Eclipse. A partial eclipse was viewed across a wider swath of the U.S., including the Gentry area, where about 90 percent of the sun was blocked by the moon at the peak of the eclipse.
To bring the excitement of STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) to children, teens and adults, Gentry Public Library, in partnership with STAR_Net, led by a non-profit organization, the Space Science Institute, distributed eclipse glasses and educational materials made possible through support from the NASA Science Mission Directorate, Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, Google, and the National Science Foundation.
"We are proud that Gentry Public Library was able to participate in this national program," said Threet. "We partnered with Gentry Schools to help our community prepare for this amazing astronomy event. We think people of all ages and backgrounds found the solar eclipse to be an experience they will remember the rest of their lives."
General News on 08/30/2017