March 18. Discovery Place Science and Discovery Place Kids – Huntersville will celebrate the 2024 solar eclipse with interactive, eclipse- and astronomy-themed activities leading up to the celestial event on April 8.
Each museum will offer a variety of outdoor activities free to the public and host viewing parties on their respective parking decks.
Beginning April 1, which falls during Spring Break for Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools, Discovery Place Science invites visitors of all ages to participate in hands-on educational STEM demonstrations and activities related to sun science. Ranging from solar story times to eclipse design challenges to a new feature in the Museum’s state-of-the-art planetarium, a complete list of activities is posted on the Discovery Place Science website here.
Discovery Place Kids – Huntersville
Discovery Place Kids – Huntersville is closed on Mondays, but the children’s museum will also celebrate Eclipse Day through storytelling and hands-on activities, like painting with sunscreen and crafting UV bracelets, along with the town of Huntersville.
Events will take place on top of the museum’s parking deck from noon to 4 pm and will be free and open to the public; however, advanced reservations are required.
Reservations can be made through the Discovery Place Kids – Huntersville website. A limited number of free eclipse glasses will be distributed to those joining the activities on the parking deck, while supplies last.
Eclipse Facts for the Charlotte Area
Charlotte will experience an 83.4 percent partial solar eclipse that will begin at 1:54 pm and last for approximately 2.5 hours, concluding at 4:26 pm.
Maximum obscurity will take place at 3:11 pm.
Discovery Place Science
The eclipse celebration will include two viewing parties on April 8 in Charlotte: one on top of the Discovery Place Science parking deck and the other in the Accenture IMAX Dome Theatre for a livestream event featuring the eclipse in totality. Leading up to the viewing parties, eclipse-focused demonstrations and activities will take place both inside and outside of the Museum during regular hours.
Outdoor eclipse activities will be available to the public at no charge.
Tickets to Discovery Place Science will be available for those who wish to continue the learning experience inside the building. Check the Museum’s website at discoveryplace.org for the most up-to-date information regarding Eclipse Day programming.
