The Ohio State University at Marion collaborated with Marion Technical College, the Columbus campus, and a number of area organizations and volunteers to provide open access to campus to over 1,000 visitors, including students, faculty, staff, and guests from the regional community, around Ohio, and visitors from across the country on Monday, April 8, 2024, to witness the rare total solar eclipse.
Organizers shared that the campus hosted over 350 vehicles from more than 20 states across the continental U.S. There were also guests from Argentina and a family from the Czech Republic. One family chartered a bus for 40 family members and traveled from Washington D.C. to the Marion campus so they could experience the eclipse together.
Months of planning for the event included the two campus partners, Ohio State Columbus campus, Ohio State Police and local law enforcement, Marion County Emergency Management Agency, Marion Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, Marion County Park District, and Ohio State astronomers and professors. The Ohio State University at Marion also partnered with Towson University in Maryland to aid in data collection for their official NASA eclipse project. ABC 6 On Your Side from Columbus, Ohio broadcasted live from the campus throughout the day.
In the weeks leading up to the eclipse, the campus held a solar eclipse educational series, which was open to the community. Ohio State Marion Associate Professor of Physics, Chris Orban and Ohio State Assistant Professor of Astronomy and Planetarium Director, Wayne Schlingman, each presented interesting history, aspects, and facts about the solar eclipse.
Orban, who remained on campus to oversee the safe telescope viewing station said, “Thanks to everybody for a great eclipse event. All the weeks and months of prep were totally worth it.”
According to Ohio State Marion Dean & Director, Gregory S. Rose, The Ohio State University as Ohio’s flagship university and a central hub of science exploration has a responsibility to the people of Ohio to educate and host events like this on the Marion campus.
“We are so pleased that the Marion campus had the opportunity to serve as a central location for university experts to share their knowledge with people from across Ohio and other states,” he said. “Having our campus located in the swath of totality gave us a chance to share this once in a lifetime event with new community friends.”
“Families brought chairs, picnic lunches, and games to share,” said Rose. “It was fun to see a different kind of ‘tailgating’ on campus,” he added.
Ohio State Marion Professor of Anthropology, Anna Willow who attended the event, shared that her family from Delaware, Ohio drove up to Marion to see an extra 59 seconds of totality and felt, “it was absolutely worth it.”
“The Ohio State Marion eclipse event was brilliantly organized, and everyone present helped to make the event a positive experience,” said Willow.
Because the organizers ensured that outdoor campus lights did not come on during totality to enable a magnificent viewing experience for those in attendance, Willow thought, “It was wonderful to be able to see totality in an open field without any streetlights (which typically turn on during darkness); we could see a 360-degree sunrise. We were glad we viewed the active sun through the telescope before the eclipse because we immediately recognized the flares we were seeing.”
Beyond just 186 acres of green space on a sunny Monday afternoon, the campus provided event attendees access to up close views of the eclipse and a host of special events for kids and families.
Ohio State astronomers were on campus throughout the day with safe telescope viewing stations that many guests appreciated, in addition to access to free solar eclipse glasses. Some people stopped by and then returned later with their entire families. Kids enjoyed fun, “Make It, Take It” solar eclipse glasses activities on the beautiful campus. Families made seed bombs for the Yoder Prairie and tossed them into the prairie on their tours.
“The telescope crew and all the volunteers did a great job,” said Ohio State Marion Director of Development and Community Relations, Cathy Gerber.
As one of the central event organizers, Gerber felt the day was a success and expressed her gratitude to those that made the eclipse viewing event a wonderful experience.
“We had so many appreciative guests at our solar eclipse viewing event. We were happy to open the campus to our community and beyond, and host so many families who wanted to experience this once in a lifetime event together,” said Gerber.