It’s one time that students may have “missed” class, and it was okay. That’s because they joined hundreds of other students who took time to watch the 2024 Solar Eclipse.

While South Florida didn’t experience a total solar eclipse – it was estimated the area had about 47% coverage of the sun – it didn’t dampen spirits as they gathered, protective solar glasses affixed to their faces and gazed upward. Even Broward College’s mascot, Sammy the Seahawk, flew in and joined the students to experience this phenomena.

Dr. Tony De Lia, an associate professor at Broward college, and others at Central Campus worked to bring the 2024 Eclipse Watch Event come to life – setting up telescopes (with appropriate lens filters so you can look at the sun) as well as big-screen TVs that showed the live stream from NASA as the moon made its way across North America.

As you can imagine, the appropriate protective eyewear was at a premium, and when the limited supply ran out, students, faculty and staff did what they do – they shared among their friends and in some cases, made new friends as they took turns watching one of nature’s most awe-inspiring spectacles.

As the moon slowly moved away from the sun and things began to return to “normal,” many were left wondering about the next eclipse, projected to take place in 20 years.

“I’m happy to be part of this new generation that gets to see the eclipse for the first time in many, many years,” said student Liany Diaz. She said during the last eclipse (2017) she was in elementary school. “Next time this happens, I’ll probably be in my 30s, so that’s really exciting. I hope [the College’s Buehler  Planetarium] is still here.”