YORK, Pa. — With the solar eclipse soon approaching, schools across central Pennsylvania are preparing for the learning experience of a lifetime.
Officials with Central York School District purchased thousands of special solar eclipse sunglasses for their elementary school students. The eclipse, which is expected to start around 2:05 p.m. on Monday, will occur while elementary students are still in class.
Matthew Miller, the principal at Roundtown Elementary School in Manchester Township, said the school is capitalizing on a unique science lesson in real-time.
“You can have flashlights and Styrofoam balls in front of other objects to simulate the experience," said Miller. "But this is going to be one of those times where everybody is like, ‘Whoa, this is happening, here it is.’”
Several dozen school districts across Central Pennsylvania will be holding early dismissals for their students, because of the solar eclipse timing with regular dismissal times.
Miller said Roundtown will be teaching its students throughout the week about being safe during the event.
"The kids know that something special is coming when they receive a pair of glasses like this," said Miller. “We have to take care of our eyes, and in order to do that, we need to wear the glasses.”
Miller said that students and teachers are excited to witness the rare solar event together.
"I can't think of a better place for us to all come together as a school to see this great, exciting thing," said Miller. "I'm glad we're staying put and getting a chance to do it here at school."
Regular dismissal for Central York elementary schools will be pushed back around 10 minutes to view the eclipse.