SunWatch Indian Village to host all-day total solar eclipse event

The village site occupies approximately 3 acres.  The SunWatch Indian Village/Archaeological Park is nestled in mature trees along the Great Miami River south of Dayton. TY GREENLEES / STAFF

The village site occupies approximately 3 acres. The SunWatch Indian Village/Archaeological Park is nestled in mature trees along the Great Miami River south of Dayton. TY GREENLEES / STAFF

A total solar eclipse will plunge many places in Ohio into complete darkness for 2 minutes and 43 seconds on April 8, and lots of places are planning for this once-in-a-lifetime experience.

One of those is the Boonshoft Museum of Discovery in Dayton, which announced a day-long experience at SunWatch Indian Village.

For $500 per person, guests on April 8 will be treated to a buffet, a guided tour of the site, drinks and various presentations about the eclipse. The site will open for this event at 9 a.m. and close at 5 p.m.

Described on the Boonshoft Museum’s website as a “very special, once-in-a-lifetime experience,” all proceeds will go to the SunWatch archeological site. Tickets are limited.

Dayton Society of Natural History hosts SunWatch Summerfest, a new event featuring handmade arts and crafts vendors, food trucks and educational programs, at SunWatch Indian Village and Archaeological Park in Dayton on Saturday, June 25.

Credit: CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

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Credit: CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

For an additional $100, guests can also camp out the night of April 7 at the limited number of camping spots at the site. Spots for recreational vehicles, or RVs, are available for $150.


How to go

What: SunWatch Solar Eclipse

Where: SunWatch Indian Village: 2301 West River Road, Dayton

When: 9 a.m.-5 p.m. April 8

More info: boonshoft.org or call 937-275-7431

Total solar eclipse info

The peak spectacle on April 8 will last up to 4 minutes, 28 seconds in the path of total darkness — twice as long as the total solar eclipse that dimmed U.S. skies in 2017. This eclipse will take a different and more populated route, entering over Mexico’s Pacific coast, dashing up through Texas and Oklahoma, and crisscrossing the Midwest, Mid-Atlantic and New England, before exiting over eastern Canada into the Atlantic. An estimated 44 million people live inside the 115-mile-wide (185-kilometer-wide) path of totality stretching from Mazatlán, Mexico to Newfoundland; about 32 million of them are in the U.S., guaranteeing jammed roads for the must-see celestial sensation.

Source: The Associated Press

More online

Visit DaytonDailyNews.com for other solar eclipse events and details.

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