Eclipse Learning Activities & Demos

Eclipse Learning Activities and Demos

There are many high-quality activities, lessons, and demos concerning the upcoming eclipse; here you will find a small subset of these that are especially helpful.
 

Two children look at an inflatable Earth globe.
 

Exploring the Solar System: Solar Eclipse

This hands-on activity from the National Informal STEM Education Network demonstrates how the positions of the Earth, Moon, and Sun can align just right to produce a solar eclipse.

 
Students and a teacher gather around for a demonstration of how eclipses occur.
 

Exploring the Solar System: Big Sun, Small Moon

Another example from the National Informal STEM Education Network, this activity uses a beach ball and a tennis ball to demonstrate how the Moon, though much, much smaller than the Sun, can completely obscure the solar disk during an eclipse thanks to its comparatively short distance from the Earth relative to the Sun.
Two people completing a demonstration of solar eclipses.

Why Do Eclipses Happen?

In this activity from the Night Sky Network of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, participants use simple materials to construct a 3-D model of the Earth-Sun-Moon system to demonstrate how a solar eclipse occurs.
An overhead view of the Earth-Sun-Moon system showing why eclipse don't occur every month.

Why Don’t Eclipses Happen Every Month?

This demo, again from Night Sky Network of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, constructs a different 3-D model of the Earth-Sun-Moon system to illustrate why solar eclipses don’t occur every time there is a new moon.
The My NASA Data logo

My NASA Data Solar Eclipse Phenomenon Page

The My NASA Data Solar Eclipse page features, mini-lessons, interactives and lesson plans for grades 3-12.