2024 Solar Eclipse Countdown

 


Total Eclipse Fest 2024

April 6-8, 2024

Join the premier eclipse viewing celebration in Cleveland - Total Eclipse Fest 2024 at Great Lakes Science Center. The Science Center and its partners NASA’s Glenn Research Center and The Cleveland Orchestra will host a three-day celestial celebration at North Coast Harbor in downtown Cleveland. This free, outdoor, family-friendly science and arts festival will feature free concerts, performances, speakers, and hands-on science activities with community partners.


Total Eclipse Fest 2024 Program and Events

NASA Village - NASA TV 

The Eclipse Fest will be host to NASA TV’s live coverage of the total solar eclipse from 1 to 4 p.m., Monday, April 8.

At the heart of the festival is “NASA Village,” an immersive experience featuring NASA’s major missions and cutting-edge projects that will advance space exploration and revolutionize air travel. Exhibits will focus on innovations in aeronautics, space, solar and lunar science, and safety. Through virtual and augmented simulations, attendees will have the opportunity to take a supersonic flight, walk on Mars, and visit the International Space Station. Kids and adults can enjoy hands-on activities and talk to NASA scientists and engineers about their ground-breaking work and how to join the NASA team.

Attendees can also walk through the Journey to Tomorrow, a traveling exhibit complete with interactive English and Spanish-language content and an Apollo-era Moon rock. They will see large-scale, inflatable displays of the revolutionary X-59 plane designed to quiet supersonic air travel, the Space Launch System rocket slated to take the first woman and person of color to the Moon, and a Mars habitat concept.

Throughout NASA Village, there will be photo opportunities, including iconic NASA cutouts and displays. NASA will also host astronaut autograph signing sessions as well as special guest meet and greets.

Science Activities with Community Partners

  • Ohio CAT -- Meet the Machines 
  • Ohio Lottery
  • PNC
  • Cleveland State University 
  • Case Western Reserve University 
  • Cleveland Monsters
  • COSI
  • Millipore Sigma
  • Oberlin Environmental Dashboard
  • FIRST Robotics
  • Destination Cleveland

Concerts and Performances
Music and dance performances will run throughout the weekend, with engaging arts and culture experiences for eclipse viewers of all ages.

  • NASA+
  • Karamu House
  • Talespinner
  • Refresh Collective
  • Cleveland International Film Festival 
  • Cleveland OrchestraA free, family concert will be at 1:30 p.m. on Sunday, April 7. The Orchestra will perform an “Out of this World” concert program of galactic proportions featuring Mozart’s Fourth Movement from Symphony No. 41 (“Jupiter”), Missy Mazzoli's Sinfonia (for Orbiting Spheres), Debussy's Clair de lune from Suite Bergamasque (orchestrated by André Caplet) and Beethoven's First Movement from Symphony No. 5. No tickets required.
  • The City Club of Cleveland

Cleveland International Film Festival 48

Great Lakes Science Center will host special screenings and panels of the films "MAESTRA" and "Small Town Universe" during the Total Eclipse Fest in the Cleveland Clinic DOME Theater. For more details please visit ClevelandFilm.org

"MAESTRA"

  • Runtime: 88 minutes 
  • Description: Women make up only about three percent of all symphony conductors. Luckily, the La Maestra competition at the Philharmonie de Paris concert hall hopes to boost this statistic. Meet five female conductors from all corners of the globe as they train and compete for fame, individuality, and recognition in a male-dominated world. After the film, there will be a Q&A with the film's director, Maggie Contreras. 

"Small Town Universe" 

  • Runtime: 90 minutes
  • Description: Green Bank, West Virginia is the only place in the United States where cell phones and WiFi are not allowed, as they would interfere with the world-famous radio telescope with its sights set on the stars. Meet the residents and scientists who live side by side. After the film, there will be a Q&A with the film's director Katie Dellamaggiore, and featured subject, Ellie White. 

Hours and Admission Details
Total Eclipse Fest 2024 is a free outdoor festival open to the public April 6-8, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. Tickets are not required. Entrances to the Festival will be available on West Third Street, East Ninth Street and Erieside Avenue.

The Science Center will offer free admission to its regular indoor exhibits on Sunday, April 7 to celebrate The Cleveland Orchestra's performance. Normal admission rates apply on Saturday and Monday.


Food and Drink
Festival guests can check out a variety of local food trucks, concessions and other treats right on festival grounds. Food truck vendors include:

Saturday, April 6

  • Betty’s Bomb A** Burgers
  • The Proper Pig Smokehouse
  • Blasian Fusion Foods
  • Boardwalk Specialties

Sunday, April 7

  • Betty’s Bomb A** Burgers
  • The Proper Pig Smokehouse
  • Blasian Fusion Foods
  • Boardwalk Specialties
  • Barrio Tacos

Monday, April 8

  • Betty’s Bomb A** Burgers
  • The Proper Pig Smokehouse.
  • Blasian Fusion Foods
  • Boardwalk Specialties
  • Barrio Tacos
  • Nickalos' Caribbean
  • Wack-E-Wontons

Directions and Parking 
Guests are encouraged to utilize parking options throughout the downtown area as well as public transit. Please note that the Science Center's parking garage will be open for Festival staff and volunteers only.

Eclipse Fest guests are encouraged to use Greater Cleveland RTA. Waterfront Line train service to East Ninth Street and North Coast Harbor will be available during the day, April 6-8. Visit https://www.riderta.com/ for additional details.


Total Eclipse Fest Sponsors


What Time Will the Eclipse Occur?
Total Eclipse Fest 2024 will occur April 6-8, 2024. The total eclipse will occur on April 8, 2024. Exact timing for Cleveland is below. 

Eclipse starts: 1:59 p.m. EDT
Totality begins: 3:13 p.m. EDT
Maximum totality: 3:15 p.m. EDT
Totality ends: 3:17 p.m. EDT
Eclipse ends: 4:28 p.m. EDT

Learn more about the science behind the eclipse 



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