Hickman High School chemistry students hold experiments during eclipse

Less than a week into the new school year, teachers at Hickman High School used the solar eclipse as a learning experience.

“The whole school came out, which is great because one of the misconceptions was you shouldn’t be looking at it but we made sure we taught the kids the important safety procedures were,” said Janice Morris, honors and AP chemistry teacher.

Morris’ class used temperature gauges and laptops to monitor the temperature before, during and after the totality of the eclipse.

“We saw about a two degree temperature decrease from before totality to after totality,” Morris said.

She said she hopes that since the kids were able to experience the eclipse at this age, it will leave an impression on them and encourage them to pursue science further.

“I think the fact that they got to be here and see it and they’re not just watching it on pictures or videos on Youtube” is encouraging, Morris said. “The fact that they’re here, a lot of time makes them more interested in what’s out there and really understand more of why we saw what we saw and sometimes just an event like this can really help them propel.”

Morris’ students seemed to shared her enthusiasm about the eclipse.

“It started out slow but as time went on, it felt like it went faster,” student Maddison Reiss said. “I really enjoyed seeing totality because it was very beautiful. It’s a one-time experience until 2024 where it’s in southern Missouri.”

“I was like, they’re making such a big deal about this for nothing and then I actually came out here and I was like, ‘oh this is what, OK,'” Tiffany Kirkley said. “So I started looking through the glasses and I was looking at it slowly pass by. I was like, ‘you know this is going really slowly’ and then when it hit totality I just, I couldn’t believe what I saw. It was an amazing experience. It was a beautiful sight. Honestly, it’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience so it’s not like I’ll ever be able to see this again.”

“It was hyped up a lot, a lot of people were really excited about it and everything,” Wyatt Moore said. “I didn’t know what to think about it at first. But when it finally happened and I did see for myself I was awestruck, honestly. It was a great experience, once-in-a-lifetime.”