280 Planetary Exploration and Education: How We Learn About Our Solar System and Beyond

This session links how we teach and learn about the solar system to how we have gained that information (i.e., space missions). Descriptions of teaching activities/courses, and strategies for working with students are encouraged.

Wednesday, 22 October 2025
1:30 PM - 5:30 PM
HBGCC, 214B

X Marks the Spot: How Science and Community Partnerships Inspired Wonder and Knowledge during the two Solar Eclipses over San Antonio

Paper number: 280-3
Program: Technical Sessions
Time: 2:10 PM – 2:30 PM

Authors

Abstract

On April 8, 2024, a Total Solar Eclipse cast a shadow over North America, starting in Mexico, crossing up through southern Texas, and ending in northern Maine. The path of totality, where the full eclipse could be observed, included several major cities such as Dallas, Cleaveland, Buffalo, and Indianapolis.  

The city of San Antonio, which was partially in the path of totality in 2024, was uniquely located directly in the path of an Annular Solar Eclipse six months earlier on October 14, 2023. This serendipitous series of solar alignments gave educators and scientists the opportunity to dedicate a year to bringing awareness about the celestial events that the local community would witness and use it as a platform to inspire interest in astronomy, as well as math, engineering, technology, and other sciences.

A consortium comprised of leads from museums, planetariums, science centers, libraries, universities, research centers, city and state parks, scout troops and others self-organized to plan a year-long series of events under the theme of “Celebración Celestial”. These events included training with information and activities for enthusiasts to use at their own outreach events, opportunities to engage with local teachers, direct outreach in schools and libraries, and hosting large events during the eclipses themselves.

This presentation will focus on how partnerships between scientists and education centers greatly enhanced who and how we reached the public during the solar eclipses in San Antonio. It will also emphasize how we can further lean on observable cosmic alignments like solar eclipses, lunar eclipses, and others to better engage with the local community.

Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs. Vol. 57, No. 6

doi: 10.1130/abs/2025AM-414447

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