National Air and Space Museum to Host Eclipse Festival

The Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum will host the “Solar Eclipse Festival on the National Mall” in Washington, D.C. This event, presented in collaboration with other Smithsonian museums, NASA, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) and the National Radio Astronomy Observatory, will run from noon to 4 p.m.

The eclipse will be visible in the Washington, D.C., area between 2:04 p.m. and 4:34 p.m. Maximum eclipse will be at 3:20 p.m., with the sun 87% covered by the moon.

Festival attendees will be able to participate in many activity stations and view the sun using a variety of safe telescopes. Stations include activities such as creating pinhole art that showcases the unique shadows made by the eclipsed sun, connecting with the ways humans have understood and responded to eclipses throughout history and virtually travel to anywhere in North America and see how the eclipse will look.