Page 4 - 2024 EOY GPS - English

GPISD Eclipses the Classroom

By: Dr. Tommie L. Smith

ery near the path of totality for a once-in-a-generation event, Galena Park ISD (GPISD)
hallmarked a special collaboration with Space Center Houston for an initiative that
Vproved to be out of this world. Space Center Houston , the Houston Museum of Natural
Science, and Buc-ee’s Totality over Texas 2024 partnered to distribute specially designed solar
eclipse glasses to students and teachers while integrating engaging classroom lessons about
the science behind the eclipse to all twenty-six GPISD campuses.

On Wednesday, April 3, 2024, Space Center Houston’s Vice President of Educational Research
and Collections, Daniel Newmyer, visited four GPISD campuses (Sam Houston Elementary
School, Normandy Crossing Elementary School, Woodland Acres Elementary School,
and Woodland Acres Middle School) to greet students and teachers who eagerly
received boxes filled with solar eclipse glasses–each pair neatly wrapped and
accompanied by instructional materials that would guide the students
through the eclipse viewing process safely. Lesson plans were
meticulously crafted to combine astronomy with practical science,
mathematics, and even history, showing the significance of solar
eclipses throughout human civilization. Students learned about
the celestial mechanics of orbits, the delicate dance between
the Earth, moon, and sun, and how eclipses have inspired
myths, legends, and scientific discoveries across cultures
and epochs.

CAN YOU NAME
THE STAGES

DISPLAYED BELOW? Partial Eclipse, Annular Eclipse, and Total Eclipse