UPDATE 4/8/24: The West Des Moines Public Library is OUT of Eclipse Glasses as of 10:20am!
Who else is excited for the total eclipse on Monday, April 8? We're partnering with SEAL (Solar Eclipse Activities for Libraries) to provide a limited amount of FREE eclipse glasses while supplies last.
To make the process fair for everyone, we will be handing out tickets for glasses during normal library hours between Monday, April 1 and Thursday, April 4. You may request a ticket at any service desk. Limit one ticket per person. We will update our social media and website once all tickets have been claimed.
Eclipse glasses can be claimed only by ticket holders on Friday, April 5 from 9:00 AM - 6:00 PM in the Community Room. You must have a ticket to claim your glasses.
Please be sure to keep your eyes protected when looking at the Sun. You can’t use regular sunglasses, you need eclipse glasses or to look through a telescope with a solar filter. See the American Astronomical Society site about safe eclipse viewing for reliable information.
Want to know more about the eclipse? Explore these facts provided by Andrew Fraknoi from the SEAL Project Team.
- An excellent TOTAL eclipse of the Sun will be visible the U.S. in 2024.
- Totality will be visible first in Mexico, coming to Texas just after noon local time.
- The eclipse then moves northeast through Oklahoma, Missouri, Ohio, New York, and Maine, to name just a few of the states, and into Canada.
- In the Northeast, totality will be around 3:00 to 3:30 pm, so, in most of the U.S., students may be in school for the eclipse.
- In Mexico and South Texas the total eclipse will last over 4 minutes, which is good for a total eclipse.
- All the rest of North America will see a partial eclipse.
- Find out if your specific location is on the 2024 path using Eclipse Simulator.
- The path of totality, where the Sun is blocked out completely by the Moon getting exactly in front of it, is over 100 miles wide, and passes over more cities than the eclipse in 2017.
- Plan ahead – 32 million people live along the path of totality, and many millions will try to get there on April 7th and 8th.
- By the way, the next total eclipse to cross the continental US will not be until Aug. 12, 2045, so don’t miss this one!
Looking for books to check out at the library about eclipses? Find them below:
Books for adults.
Books for kids.
