Multiple entities and organizations around the metroplex are finalizing plans for events related to next week’s solar eclipse.
The Perot Museum of Nature and Science in Dallas has a website page — which includes a countdown clock — dedicated to the April 8 event. The website also includes information on eye safety and where to obtain eclipse glasses. The museum, which has handed out free glasses to nearly 600 schools in North Texas so far, expects to have distributed over one million pairs of glasses by the time of the eclipse.
Although the watch party at the Perot Museum is filled to capacity for April 8 — with some 7,000 guests expected to attend — the website lists more than a dozen other community outreach and educational events in the days leading up to the eclipse. These events will be held at locations across the metroplex, including Klyde Warren Park, Stevie Ray Vaughan Park, Cotton Bowl Stadium, and more.
The museum, which has been preparing for the eclipse over the last two years, will send 29 astronomers to these educational events to teach the public about this rare astronomical occurrence, according to CBS News.
“I think it’s just gonna be this collective moment where we all have an opportunity to be inspired and in awe of our universe and how it operates – and you can’t simulate those things,” said Dr. Linda Abraham Silver, Eugene McDermott CEO at the Perot Museum, per CBS News.
Jai Shah, an aspiring future astronomer, told CBS that the total eclipse will be a “legendary moment.”
“I can’t wait to see it. I hope a lot of people get to see it, because it’s pretty much a once-in-a-lifetime event,” said Shah.
Dallas Love Field is preparing for the expected influx of visitors to the area in the days surrounding the eclipse. Between Sunday, April 7, and Tuesday, April 9, a 30% increase in roadway and passenger foot traffic is projected for the area, according to an airport press release.
“High-volume traffic procedures” will be deployed during this time. Other preparations include “additional staffing, enhanced monitoring of facilities, parking and roadway traffic, security patrols, and increased supply stocking,” the press release states.
The Frontiers of Flight Museum is hosting a “Pre-Eclipse Festival” on Sunday, April 7, to “celebrate and prepare our community for the eclipse happening the next day,” per the museum website. The museum’s April 8 Total Solar Eclipse event has already sold out.
The FOFM also has a webpage with links to resources and educational activities, including instructions on how to make a pinhole projector for viewing the eclipse, and how to make a DIY solar eclipse.
The City of Dallas announced that sanitation services will be delayed by one day next week due to the anticipated traffic on April 8.
“Sanitation will not conduct garbage, recycle, or brush and bulky waste collections on Monday, April 8, due to the total solar eclipse that will occur that day,” the City website says. “… severe traffic will impact mobility on local freeways and other major arterials, which are essential for transporting solid waste to disposal sites. The potential for loaded solid waste vehicles to be immobilized due to severe traffic congestion for long periods presents safety hazards, and may lead to waste backups at transfer stations, presenting further hazards and compliance issues.”
“Monday routes will be serviced on Tuesday, Tuesday routes on Wednesday, Wednesday routes on Thursday, Thursday routes on Friday, and Friday routes on Saturday,” according to the website.
Dallas’ Office of Emergency Management released a memo last week outlining other safety, traffic, and emergency preparations undertaken by the City ahead of next week’s celestial event.
The Dallas City Calendar also lists various free City-sponsored events where families can gather to view and celebrate the eclipse.