BELFAST — On Tuesday, April 2, from 3:30 - 4:30 p.m., Friends of Sears Island and the Belfast Free Library will be cosponsoring a Science Squad afterschool program for kids all about the upcoming April 8 eclipse. This event will take place in the Abbott Room at the Belfast Free Library.

Videos and a story will be shared to help children learn the science of eclipses, and then participants will be able to make a solar viewing box, which works like a pinhole camera, allowing for safe indirect viewing with your back to the sun. The Belfast Free Library will also have free eclipse glasses available to participants, with a limit of one per person, or four per family.

This free program is for kids ages 5-12 and an accompanying adult. Pre-registration is required as space is limited. Sign-up by emailing outreach@friendsofsearsisland.org. Registration is complete upon receiving a confirmation email.

This event is part of Friends of Sears Island’s “Science Squad,” a place-based after-school program involving children as scientists, explorers, and stewards of their environment. Science Squad is sponsored by First National Bank.

Also, on Monday, April 8, the day of the eclipse, the library is hosting a community viewing celebration from 2:30-3:15 p.m. They will be showing NASA videos, and refreshments and eclipse viewing glasses will be available in the Abbott room. Around 3 p.m., people will gather on the south lawn of the library to view the eclipse together.

For more information, visit friendsofsearsisland.org, facebook.com/friendsofsearsisland, and belfastlibrary.org/events.