Jake teaching the girls about eclipses!

Recently the girls were learning about eclipses for their science unit in school.  Even though we had studied that section for a couple days they were not consistently getting the concept.  Jake came up with a great visual tool to demonstrate the solar and lunar eclipses so that the girls to remember it more easily.  Thankful for a husband who is creative and invests time in teaching our kids!  Thanks Babe!

The orange is the moon and the balloon is the Earth.  We used a flashlight for the sun!

For kids who are visual learners this is an easy way to help them grasp the differences between a solar and lunar eclipse!

We shut off the room lights so they could see how the sun (flashlight), moon (orange), and Earth (balloon) aligned to make a solar and lunar eclipse.

Solar Eclipse:

During a solar eclipse the Moon will cast a shadow on the Earth.  When a solar eclipse happens the moon is in between the sun and the Earth.  You can demonstrate this by placing the moon (orange) between the sun (flashlight) and the Earth (balloon).  When the Moon is between the Earth and Sun it will block some of the sun from hitting the Earth and cast a shadow.  Only the people directly in the shadow can see the entire eclipse of the Sun.

Lunar Eclipse:

During a lunar eclipse the Earth will cast a shadow on the Moon, therefore no light will be hitting the Moon.  The Earth will cast a shadow on the Moon because it is between the Sun and the Moon.  You can demonstrate this by placing the Earth (balloon) between the Sun (flashlight) and the Moon (orange).  Since the Earth is bigger than the Moon the entire Moon will be in its shadow.  Anyone on Earth that is on the night side can see the lunar eclipse.

If you really want to “show” the kids more about the Solar and Lunar Eclipse you may be able to catch the next one depending on where you are located and if the weather cooperates for you!

Next Lunar Eclipse: Saturday, April 4, 2015 – It will be a Total Lunar Eclipse and will be visible before dawn from the Pacific Ocean, Americas, Asia, and Australia.

Next Solar Eclipse:  Friday, March 20, 2015 – It will be Total Solar Eclipse and will be visible from Iceland, Europe, North Africa,  and Northern Asia (unfortunately, we will not be able to see it in North America).  It looks like the next one we’ll see from the United States will be on August 21, 2017 which will be visible from North America and South America.