How to Watch the Eclipse in Maine With a Shoebox, Foil, and Paper

Parts of Maine will experience a total eclipse of the sun for the first time in 61 years. Don't miss it when it happens this 2024.

What if you are too late and can't find eclipse glasses? I started thinking about when I was a kid and there was a partial eclipse. My entire class made eclipse viewing boxes from shoeboxes. Make it a fun family project!

You don't need much to make your own:

• Shoe box
• Knife
• Foil
• Paper
• Tape

The funny part about watching the eclipse this way is that the sun is at your back. Here's a video to explain how to make your nifty box and watch the eclipse!

There's a great post by Maine Public Radio that made me remember being a kid in the '70s. This Maine family's picture and story are so endearing. It's wonderful how they have made it a family adventure to watch solar eclipses.

My dad was a science teacher and then a high school administrator in Massachusetts. He led my siblings and me on many adventures. One was a trip to Sedgwick, ME to see the total solar eclipse in 1963.

I love this! Did you catch the 1963 total solar eclipse? I did not. In fact, I had to find out where exactly Sedgwick, Maine, is.

This is pretty special that Maine is in the path of totality. That's rare. Here is where the best viewing is in Maine and Canada when it passes on April 8. The University of Maine charted out the path of totality of the upcoming eclipse. This is just the view for when it passed over Maine starting at 3:28 pm.

The University of Maine points out something very important:

Note to see totality you must be on the centerline – so if you live in Bangor, Orono, Portland, Augusta, etc. you will have to travel to experience totality. Those towns will experience a partial eclipse only, which is much different than totality!

The last time Maine had a chance to see this solar event was back in 1963! If you miss it, your next shot is 2079! That's 55 years from now!