School divisions across Winnipeg are weighing the potential learning opportunities of viewing the upcoming solar eclipse against possible risks, with many erring on the side of safety.
Some schools are planning to keep children indoors during next week’s celestial event to protect pupils from sustaining eye damage.
An April 1 letter sent to River East Transcona School Division parents says young students will remain indoors during the eclipse, when the moon will traverse over the sun for a few minutes between 1 p.m. and 3 p.m on April 8.
“Students in early and middle years schools will be kept indoors during this time so that they do not view the eclipse,” the letter says, adding there will be no patrols during the lunch hour and students who go home to eat must be supervised by an adult.
Students in senior years schools will not be limited to staying indoors, the letter says.
Even a brief look at the partially eclipsed sun can result in vision damage.
The eclipse’s path of totality — an approximately 200-kilometre-wide path where the moon fully blocks the light of the sun — will cross through North America, passing over parts of Mexico, the United States and Canada. Manitoba will only see about 70 per cent of the eclipse. Parts of Ontario, Quebec and Atlantic Canada will experience a total eclipse.
A spokesperson from the school division said the decision to keep kids in many of its 42 schools indoors was taken from the provincial government. That guidance, sent to Manitoba schools by the province in March, stopped short of banning young students from going outside during the solar event.
“Early learning and child-care facilities and schools are encouraged to have plans in place to keep children indoors during the afternoon to ensure they don’t view the eclipse unless appropriate eye protection is available and worn. Note that anyone who may not understand the risk or have difficulty following safety instructions are at greater risk,” the letter sent to all school divisions reads.
The Hanover School Division in southeast Manitoba is also keeping all early years and middle years students indoors during the three-hour window, while others are taking advantage of a learning opportunity.
At Leila North School in the Seven Oaks School Division, middle years students will go outside in groups to peek at the sun using special glasses made of black polymer. In the Winnipeg School Division, each of its 79 schools is playing by its own rules.
“(Schools) in WSD are designing experiences to educate children and keep them safe during the eclipse. Communication to families will be going out later this week,” spokesperson Matt Henderson said in an email.
Elsewhere in Canada, students in Prince Edward Island — where the northwest corner of the province falls in the path of totality — will be sent home from school two hours early.
“The solar eclipse offers a rare educational occasion, but prioritizing safety is crucial for all of us to fully embrace its wonder,” a news release from the province said.
Kelvin Au, a Ph.D. student in the department of physics and astronomy at the University of Manitoba, said the only safe way to look directly at the sun during an eclipse is through ISO-certified eclipse glasses, which only allow small amounts of UV rays through its lenses.
“Even with half the sun blocked, (the rays are) still enough to cause serious damage to our vision,” he said. “Our everyday sunglasses are not gonna cut that.”
Apart from the spectacle, Au said a total eclipse can showcase solar flares flickering on the sun’s surface while space agencies like NASA can send up weather balloons and satellites to collect data to study it further.
“There’s some really neat scientific benefits to it,” he said.
Astronomy enthusiasts looking to see the eclipse can do so at the Leaf at Assiniboine Park on April 8 between 12:15 p.m. and 3:15 p.m. Members of the Winnipeg chapter of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada and staff from the Manitoba Museum’s Planetarium will host an event with solar-safe telescopes and certified safety glasses.
Despite all the plans, it’s all up to Mother Nature, Au said.
“None of it will really matter if there’s clouds in the sky.”
The last total solar eclipse in the U.S. was in August 2017. The next one is expected in August 2044.
nicole.buffie@freepress.mb.ca
Nicole Buffie
Multimedia producer
Nicole Buffie is a multimedia producer who reports for the Free Press city desk.