A number of Penn State campuses hosted solar eclipse viewing events and educational activities on April 8, including Penn State Behrend which observed 100% totality.
Approximately 1,000 people attended Penn State Altoona's solar eclipse watch event on April 8.
Thousands of visitors crowded into the soccer/lacrosse complex at Penn State Behrend, in Erie, to view the eclipse in totality. Cheers rippled across the field as the sun’s corona became visible.
A spectator gazes at the eclipse during a watch event at the Medlar Field at Lubrano Park at University Park campus on April 8. The SolarFest event, hosted by the Eberly College of Science, drew a record crowd of 8,411. The University Park campus was in the path of 95% totality for the solar eclipse.
The Eberly College of Science hosted its SolarFest event at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park at the University Park campus on April 8. In addition to interactive science-themed displays for attendees, the event included the members of the Penn State Students for the Exploration and Development of Space leading multiple rocket launches.
Approximately 1,500 people attended Penn State Wilkes-Barre's solar eclipse event on April 8. The campus showcased a number of eclipse-related activities, including tours of the Friedman Observatory; a solar eclipse-themed art exhibit at the Friedman Art Gallery; craft stations; NASA's livestream of the eclipse; and a children's story time featuring "The Sky Is the Limit," a special children's book produced by the campus and illustrated by a Penn State student.
Amateur astronomers brought telescopes, filtered binoculars and other equipment to Penn State Behrend, in Erie, to view the eclipse in totality.
Members of Penn State Altoona's Department of Physics prepare a telescope ahead of the April 8 solar eclipse.
Silhouette of Penn State Shenango student Gianna Effinite during totality of the solar eclipse. As a result of the near-complete darkness, the campus light posts and the Nittany Lion Shrine turned on.