NEWS RELEASE: Peoria Riverfront Museum Hosts Free Solar Eclipse Watch Party April 8 with Community Partners

PEORIA, Ill. (12 March 2024) — The Peoria Riverfront Museum welcomes the solar eclipse on Monday, April 8 with a Solar Eclipse Watch Party from 12:30 to 2:30 p.m. on the Sun Plaza. The event, presented by Sun Collectors, is free and open to the public.

The rare total solar eclipse visible in a narrow path across the continental United States from Texas to Maine will be experienced in Peoria as a 95% partial eclipse as the Moon orbits between the Earth and the Sun. The eclipse begins locally at 12:47 p.m. with the Sun maximally eclipsed at 2:03 p.m.

The museum's Solar Eclipse Watch Party features solar telescopes stationed on the Sun Plaza and family friendly activities in partnership with the Peoria Art Guild, Illinois Art Station, Peoria Public Library and The Peoria PlayHouse. Eclipse viewing glasses, necessary for viewing the partial eclipse directly, are available at the museum store for $4 each. Food is available for purchase from the museum’s concession stand and local food trucks.

All museum galleries will be open to the public at no charge during the event thanks to the generous support of Art Bridges Foundation’s Access for All program.

“A total solar eclipse is a rare and astonishing event,” said Renae Kerrigan, Peoria Riverfront Museum planetarium director and science curator. “For nearly 3 minutes the Moon will entirely block out the light of the Sun and darkness will fall in the middle of the day. The sky will turn a deep blue, with an orange glow stretching across the horizon. Planets and bright stars will be visible.”

“After the eclipse on April 8, there will not be another total solar eclipse that crosses the United States until 2045. Don’t miss this chance to view it,” Kerrigan said.

The museum asks that eclipse viewers bring their own lawn chairs or picnic blankets as seating is limited.

The Peoria Riverfront Museum Solar Eclipse Watch Party is presented by Sun Collectors with additional support from Visionary Society and Planetarium and Science Club.

Find out more about observing the solar eclipse by viewing the Peoria Riverfront Museum’s video featuring Kerrigan on the museum’s YouTube channel and the museum’s website. More information about the Solar Eclipse Watch Party can be found on the museum’s website at peoriariverfrontmuseum.org.