Solar Eclipse Activities & Printables for Kids

The next Solar Eclipse is happening on April 8, 2024 and we are super excited! Since solar eclipses are so rare, it is a great time for kids to get some hands on learning about a solar eclipse. These solar eclipse activities for kids are perfect for home or the classroom to learn more about the magic of the sun.

Solar Eclipse Activities for Kids

What’s so special about this eclipse?

The April 8, 2024, eclipse will be a total solar eclipse. It will be the last total solar eclipse visible from the contiguous United States until 2044.
–NASA

The last solar eclipse for 20 years is a big deal! You are on the solar eclipse path if you are in any of these areas:

Mexico
Texas
Oklahoma
Arkansas
Missouri
Illinois
Kentucky
Indiana
Ohio
Pennsylvania
New York
Vermont
New Hampshire
Main
Southern Ontario
Quebec
New Brunswick
Prince Edward Island
Cape Breton
Atlantic coast of Newfoundland

That makes this one a big deal!

Since looking at the sun during an eclipse is a huge no-no (it can actually burn your retinas!), we’ve been coming up with fun ways to help the kids understand what’s going on while also getting excited about seeing it – just in a different way. Here’s some of what we’ll be doing:

Solar Eclipse Science Activity

The first thing we’re doing is making a solar eclipse model that the kids can use to demonstrate what actually happens during an eclipse. We used the printable below and referenced this article from NASA to help explain what happens and how during a solar eclipse.

SOLAR-ECLIPSE-SCIENCE-ACTIVITY Download

Solar Eclipse K-W-L Chart

Since we don’t get to see a solar eclipse all that often, the kids had lots of questions about it.

What is an eclipse?
What makes a complete solar eclipse?
How often do solar eclipses occur?

To keep track of all of their questions and what they learned, we used the Solar Eclipse K-W-L Chart. “K” is what you already Know about solar eclipses. “W” is for what you Want to know about them. And “L” is for everything that you Learned about solar eclipses. It’s a neat way to make learning focused and fun!

Solar-Eclipse-Investigation-KWL-Download

Create a Solar Eclipse Viewer

Since it’s not good to look at the sun during a solar eclipse, we have to find a way around it. This clever solar eclipse viewer is the perfect way to see what happens during an eclipse without ever having to look at the sky!

Why a Total Solar Eclipse is So Cool

Solar eclipses happen more often than you might expect, but this total solar eclipse is important, because scientists have discovered that they won’t be around forever. Here’s a great, easy-to-understand explanation of what happens during an eclipse!

NASA Solar Eclipse Live Streaming

We’re also going to be tuning in to NASA as they do a Live Stream of the Solar Eclipse on the 21st! They have a bunch of different places where you can catch the broadcast, but you can find a complete list of them here.