Bonus Eclipse Episode: Children’s Museum of Indianapolis to host cosmic educational event

he Children’s Museum of Indianapolis wants to give families an educational viewing experience for the April 8 total solar eclipse that’s out-of-this-world.Museum officials named their celebration of the cosmic event “Eclipse Extravaganza.”

Programming will focus on teaching kids the history and science behind the moment the moon and the sun align.

Don Riefler manages the museum’s science programming. He says the goal is to help kids understand this once-in-a-millennium occurrence.

“You don’t really understand it until you’re underneath the eclipse yourself,” Riefler said. “This thing…it just it seems like it shouldn’t happen but it does.”

Inside the museum, kids will be able to interact with telescopes and other science equipment. They’ll also get a chance to decorate their own pair of free eclipse glasses.

Meanwhile, outside in the Sports Legends Experience, cosmic yoga will prepare people for the skies darkening in totality at about 3 p.m.

“I’ve never been underneath a total one,” Riefler said. “What I’ve been told is it’s incredibly emotional. You react in ways you don’t expect.”

For families with plans to view the eclipse elsewhere, the museum will also hold programming on April 6 and 7 that includes hearing from NASA scientists.

“We’re learning about cutting-edge science, space science and astronomy from the people who are doing it, who are developing new technologies, who are working on putting people on the moon once again,” Riefler said.

Eclipse Extravaganza starts at 10 a.m. on April 8. The outdoor activities are set to start around 1 p.m.

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