Balloons, Lasers, and Drones: The Great American Eclipse of 2017 Combining Research and Outreach in Total Darkness

The total solar eclipse of August 21, 2017, dubbed the “Great American Eclipse” was the first time the continental US experienced a total solar eclipse in nearly 40 years. Such a rare and awe-inspiring event offered an opportunity to not only conduct natural experiments, but to also introduce the public to science and the scientific method. We discuss here the results of combining a scientific experiment with a public outreach event held during the total solar eclipse. The event was held in cooperation with the Boy Scouts of America Indian Waters Council in Columbia, South Carolina. Camp Eclipse attendees (boy scouts and their families) were invited to actively participate in radiosonde launches, drone based temperature measurements, and aerosol lidar measurements as part of a research-based field campaign to identify the role of solar radiation changes in triggering internal gravity waves. In addition, scouts were guided through short lectures on the instruments themselves and the field of meteorology. They were also invited to make their own anemometers and barometers with activities adapted from NOAA. Finally, families were allowed to make their own temperature and wind measurements with handheld instruments throughout the weekend. Data were consistently collated and displayed to teach the basic principles of scientific investigation and linear regression. We report here on lessons learned with respect to the challenges associated with holding an event of this nature, as well as the results of a post-event survey of participants.