Total Eclipse Fest 2024
April 6-8, 2024
Thank you to everyone who joined us for 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, hosted a three-day celestial celebration in downtown Cleveland. This free, outdoor, family-friendly science and arts festival featured free concerts, performances, speakers, and hands-on science activities with community partners.
Over the three days of the event, close to 37,000 guests visited the festival grounds contributing to the almost $25 million regional impact from eclipse related events that drew more than 90,000 people total. It was the largest event ever produced in the museum’s 28 year history, with guests coming from across the country and even from as far away as Japan. Nearly 40 media outlets from around the world were onsite bringing the Science Center unparalleled exposure, along with hundreds of volunteers, performing arts groups, a massive display of assets from our partners at NASA, an amazing performance by the Cleveland Orchestra, and dozens of community organizations and sponsors.
Impact Report
Science Activities with Community Partners
Cleveland International Film Festival
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 at the West Third Street Key Bank Entrance, the East Ninth Street Bank of America Entrance and the Erieside Avenue Moen Entrance. Eclipse safety glasses will be distributed at all festival entrances, April 6-8, while supplies last.
The Science Center will offer free admission to its regular indoor exhibits on Sunday, April 7 to celebrate The Cleveland Orchestra's performance. Normal general admission rates apply on Saturday and Monday. Tickets
*Please note: The Science Center will be closed Friday, April 5, and Tuesday, April 9 for event prep and tear down. Visit our hours page for more information.
To ensure a safe and enjoyable experience for all, the following rules are in place for the event.
· All persons, bags, parcels and other items are subject to screening and security checks.
· We reserve the right to not allow any bag, parcel, or other item for any reason.
· Children under the age of 16 must be accompanied by an adult 18 years of age and older.
· The following items are prohibited: aerosols, ammunition, animals/pets (service animals are welcome), beverages other than water, bicycles, coolers, drones and other unmanned aircraft systems, explosives, firearms, food, glass, thermal or other metal containers (excluding small containers such as baby food), laser pointers, mace/pepper spray, objects or toys that appear to be firearms or weapons, political signs, and smoking/vaping. Note that outdoor chairs are not permitted in the Science Center building.
* Please note that the Science Center's parking garage will be closed to the public and reserved for staff and volunteers only
Guests are encouraged to utilize parking options throughout the downtown area as well as public transit.
All four Greater Cleveland RTA rail lines (Red, Blue, Green and Red) meet at Tower City Center. The Waterfront Line train service to East Ninth Street and North Coast Harbor from Tower City will be available during the day, April 6-8. Visit https://www.riderta.com/ for additional details, including schedules and how to ride information.
Rideshare pick-up and drop-off is located anywhere on Lakeside Avenue between West Third and East Ninth. Please note that Lakeside Avenue will be designated as a no parking/stopping zone and will be pick-up and drop-off only.
Multiple parking options will be available in Downtown Cleveland. Check back soon for more details. Note that special event parking rates may be in effect and many lots are cash only.
• Port Lot (Dock 30 & 32) – 101 Erieside Avenue - Trailers/RV permitted
• North Point Parking Garage – 1111 East Ninth Street
• Willard Parking Garage – 601 Lakeside Avenue
• East Ninth Street Pier – 1001 East Ninth Street
• Coast Guard Lot – 1055 East Ninth Street
• Burke Lakefront Airport – 1501 North Marginal Road
• Marginal Road Lot– 726 Marginal Road
• Lakefront Municipal Parking – 1500 South Marginal Road
• Gateway East Garage – 650 Huron Road
• Cathedral Plaza Garage – 1411 East Ninth Street
• St. Clair Parking Lot – 1440 St. Clair Avenue
• Tower City– 801 Canal Road
• Tower City – 1527 West Sixth Street
• Canal Basin Lot – 1519 Merwin Ave
Total Eclipse Fest is ADA accessible throughout the festival grounds. Trained service dogs are welcome at Total Eclipse Fest. ADA pick-up and drop-off is located at the East Ninth Street Bank of America entrance gate. Limited first-come, first-served ADA parking will be available at the Port Lot (Dock 30 & 32) parking area at 101 Erieside Avenue. Special event parking rates may be in effect.
Total Eclipse Fest 2024 Program and Events
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. Click here for more information!
Exhibitor Avenue with Science Activities by Community Partners
Sponsored by Ohio’s 529, College Advantage
- Ohio CAT -- Meet the Machines
- Ohio Lottery
- PNC
- Cleveland State University
- Case Western Reserve University
- NOAA
- Cleveland Public Library
- COSI
- Millipore Sigma
- moCa
- Drink Local, Drink Tap
- Destination Cleveland
Concerts and Performances
Sponsored by the Kulas Foundation
Music and dance performances will run throughout the weekend, with engaging arts and culture experiences for eclipse viewers of all ages.
- NASA+
- Karamu House
- Creating Lewis
- Near West Theatre
- Papo Ruiz y la Dulzura de la Salsa
- Talespinner
- Refresh Collective
- Cleveland International Film Festival
- Cleveland Orchestra - A 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
- Sunday, April 7 at 11 a.m.
- 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.
- Monday, April 8 at 5 p.m.
- 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.
Download the performance schedule here!
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
- Metro 45
- The Proper Pig Smokehouse
- Blasian Fusion Foods
- Boardwalk Specialties
- Sprinkle It! Cupcake and Cookie Café
Sunday, April 7
- Metro 45
- The Proper Pig Smokehouse
- Blasian Fusion Foods
- Boardwalk Specialties
- Barrio Tacos
- Sprinkle It! Cupcake and Cookie Café
Monday, April 8
- Metro 45
- The Proper Pig Smokehouse.
- Blasian Fusion Foods
- Boardwalk Specialties
- Barrio Tacos
- Nickalos' Caribbean
- Holy Crepes
- Sprinkle It! Cupcake and Cookie Café
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
Path Through Ohio
