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‘Eye safety is super important;’ How to safely view the eclipse

DAYTON — Officials with the Boonshoft Museum of Discovery said they are already seeing a lot of interest in the eclipse.

Taylor Hoffman, the Marketing Director at Boonshoft said, “We’ve had a lot of people reach out and ask about the eclipse. We’re going to go out into the community to talk about what the eclipse is, and why eye safety is important.”

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That’s why it’s important to plan how you’ll view the eclipse beforehand.

“Eye safety is super important because you don’t want to look directly at the sun,” Hoffman said.

The easiest way is with a pair of eclipse glasses. If you’ve held onto a pair since the 2017 eclipse, check them out before looking into the sun.

“You don’t want to scratch the lenses or anything because that’s how you get eye damage,” Hoffman said.

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If you haven’t been able to snag a pair – “you can also do very simply pinhole viewers,” Hoffman said.

You will need the following:

  • 2 pieces of paper
  • Some aluminum foil
  • A pin, paper clip or pencil
  • Some tap
  • Pair of scissors.

First, cut a rectangular hole in the middle of one of the pieces of paper. Then, take a piece of aluminum foil over the hole, grab your poke, and poke a small hole in the aluminum.

Then, you are all set.