|
April 3, 2024
Dear Columbus Academy Families,
I have been stalling in writing to you about the eclipse this upcoming Monday (April 8) and the half-day of school we have planned followed by our science department’s Eclipse Party that has already been announced. With our noon dismissal that day, we are hoping to accomplish a bit of school while also allowing our community to experience such a rare event.
A total solar eclipse coming through Ohio is once in a lifetime, which is why it creates such excitement for the science nerd in many of us (and I’m an art history major!). A terrific resource for this event was published by Columbus Monthly magazine and can be viewed by clicking on the link below.
Total Eclipse of the Heartland: A Guide to Watching the 2024 Eclipse in Ohio
We’ve been paying attention to what kind of preparations the state and the city are planning. There are dire predictions of traffic in our area, particularly from early that afternoon into late at night. To give you an idea of the scale, my husband drove our boys (then a senior and sophomore) to Hopkinsville, Ky., for the total eclipse in 2017. It was not a notable venue, except for the fact that it was both the center of totality closest to Columbus and the home of the Little Green Man Festival, both a draw to the quirky scientist spirit of my spouse. However, everyone seemed to be attracted to this tiny Kentucky town, for a quick five-hour drive there became a 13-hour, 20-MPH slog the entire way back, so please consider that a warning for how heavy traffic might be afterwards.
Please also note that only these buses will provide transportation home at noon on Monday (Dublin has canceled its bus since we first reported this list to you last month):
- Bexley
- Upper Arlington
- Westerville
- VAT Olentangy
- VAT WBexley/Arlington
We hope that many of you will be able to join us at the Coffman Park Pavilion in Dublin on Monday for our Eclipse Party. Our science department has been planning this event for over a year, and they even received recent news coverage about it (click below to watch)!
| 
