Sarah Kirkpatrick, director of the Learning Resource Center and Campus Engagement, shows off eclipse eyewear.

EAST ST. LOUIS - Southern Illinois University Edwardsville East St. Louis Learning Resource Center (LRC) is hosting a moon watch in observance of the Solar Eclipse 2024 from 1:30-2:30 p.m. Monday, April 8 on the green space between Buildings B and D at the Wyvetter H. Younge Higher Education Campus in East St. Louis.

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U.S. Poet Laureate Ada Limón’s poem, “In Praise of Mystery: A Poem for Europa,” will be read during the moon watch, according to Sarah Kirkpatrick, director of the Learning Resource Center and Campus Engagement. Limón’s poem will be engraved on NASA’s spacecraft, Europa Clipper, along with participants’ names, and will travel 1.8 billion miles to the Jupiter system.

The LRC will distribute eclipse glasses, while supplies last. Eclipse-shaped sugar cookies and snacks will be served. Also available will be clear beads, which change colors in the sunlight, and string for those wanting to make bracelets.

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“This is an unusual phenomenon,” said Kirkpatrick. “It’s important for libraries to support curiosity and learning and when we have a solar eclipse, it’s a great opportunity.”

The free event is open to the public.

The SIUE East St. Louis Learning Resource Center (LRC) is a full-service library available to the East St. Louis and surrounding communities, as well as the SIUE East St. Louis Charter High School, SIUE East St. Louis Center staff and programs and other programs and employees on the Wyvetter H. Younge Higher Education Campus. It offers internet access with 10 public computers, a computer lab with 20 computers and a SMART Board available to on-campus classes and community groups. Career services, free library cards, free printing, copying, scanning, faxing, and Notary Public services are designed to provide inclusive access and assistance in one convenient location. LRC is sponsored by a grant from the Illinois Community College Board (ICCB).

Southern Illinois University Edwardsville provides students with a high-quality education that powerfully transforms the lives of all individuals who seek something greater. A premier metropolitan university, SIUE is creating social and economic mobility for individuals while also powering the workforce of the future. Built on the foundation of a broad-based liberal education, and enhanced by hands-on research and real-world experiences, the academic preparation SIUE students receive equips them to thrive in the global marketplace and make our communities better places to live. Home to a diverse student body, SIUE is situated on 2,660 acres of beautiful woodland atop the bluffs overlooking the natural beauty of the Mississippi River’s rich bottomland and only a short drive from downtown St. Louis.

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