CHULA VISTA, Calif. — The solar eclipse experience gave young students a hands-on opportunity to learn more about the sun and this rare event.
Watching the solar eclipse with a third-grade class in the South Bay makes you feel like a kid at heart.
“Oh my god! Look up look up!” said third grader Oliva Parada.
Second and third grade students at Thurgood Marshall Elementary in Chula Vista eagerly lined up to watch the partial solar eclipse.
“I can see it moving,” said Parada. “It’s an amazing experience. I still can’t believe it’s my first time. I love the experience.”
Many were only one or two years old during the last solar eclipse in Southern California.
“Well, this is my first time seeing the eclipse because I’ve never ever seen the eclipse before,” said Avery.
The solar experience has been passed down generations in Jennifer Clemente’s family.
“My mom told me the first time she saw the eclipse was in 1991 and she had a baby that was six months old. That was my sister, and she is now 33,” said Clemente. “I’m the youngest in my family, and I’m the third person to see another eclipse.”
At the peak of the partial eclipse, students described it looked like a smiley face, a yellow moon, a sideways sad face or a piece of cheese that had been bitten into.
While the science of the solar system is traditionally taught in fifth grade, the solar eclipse gave students a head start.
“They learn about science in the classroom, but to see it in the real world, it gives a sense that we are a part of something bigger,” said teacher Anna Pachon.
Each kid wore their eclipse glasses and took precautions not to stare at the sun with the naked eye.
“My mom and dad told me not to look at it too long or I could go blind,” said Parada.
CBS 8 brought a view box made from a cereal box and let the students watch the eclipse through the viewer.
Who needs to look up when you can watch the eclipse through their eyes?
“I love the eclipse,” said Parada.
Many of the students will be in their late 20s when the next solar eclipse makes its way in the U.S. in 2044.
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