Rice Creek Observatory's Eclipse Experience

Tickets are available (advance sale only) through the University Box Office.

Walks-ins can be accommodated but will not receive a pair of eclipse glasses. 

Bring your printed tickets and (if applicable) your accessible parking pass. We also encourage you to bring warm layers, lawn chairs, a reusable water bottle, a hat, and sunscreen.

If you plan to walk the trails, you may want insect repellent as a tick prevention measure. Rain boots are highly encouraged as spring trail conditions are often muddy in spots.

Families with children are encouraged to bring books, games, and coloring books to keep little ones occupied while waiting. If your child has auditory sensitivities, you may want to bring earplugs or noise-reduction headphones for your child to use around totality, when groups of people often cheer or exclaim. Although food will be available, you may also want to bring your children's favorite snacks.

If you have binoculars or a camera, you may want to bring these to use during totality.  Please note that you cannot safely look through binoculars, a camera, a spotting scope, or a telescope at any other time during the eclipse - even while wearing eclipse glasses. Doing so will cause immediate and severe eye damage unless these items are equipped with a specialized solar filter. 

Use of tobacco products is prohibited on SUNY Oswego property, including the use of vaping products. Please also avoid bringing alcohol, drugs, fire pits, grills, and weapons. Organizers also ask guests to avoid bringing speakers or playing music, as Rice Creek biologists will be recording natural sounds before, during, and after the eclipse to study how wildlife respond.

Please leave all pets at home, as this is a pet-free event.

Please note that hunting, fishing, and trapping are not allowed at Rice Creek Field Station.

Given the size and nature of this event, dogs (and all pets) are not allowed. Thank you for your understanding and compliance.

Service animals, kept on a short leash, are allowed. 

Although we remain hopeful for clear or partially clear weather, there are no guarantees. We hope you will join our event regardless. Together, all can witness the landscape dramatically darken during totality, and Rice Creek will bring the eclipse to you by streaming videos from clear viewing locations on big screens. With crafts and STEAM activities, food, streamed lectures, and streamed planetarium shows, it will still be a memorable day.

All ticket sales are final. Please do let us know if you know for sure you will not be attending.

The Rice Creek building is ADA accessible, as are the sidewalks near the pavilion which will be the main hub for viewing. Persons with accessible parking passes can park close to the Rice Creek building.

For additional information or questions, please contact us at rcfs@oswego.edu or 315.312.6677.

Yes. We have two ADA-accessible bathrooms inside the Rice Creek building. We will also have several portable toilets located outside to supplement these.

Yes. We have a private shower room that will be designated as a lactation and baby changing area for the event. It has a chair, sink, and a flat surface (without safety straps) for changing.

Rice Creek Field Station is located in Oswego, NY: 3.4 miles southwest of downtown Oswego, 1.5 miles south of SUNY Oswego's main campus, and 50 minutes north of Syracuse. 

March 25, 2024 Update

The parking location for this event has changed to Parking Lot EC-7 for regular (non-accessible) parking. A safe, ADA-accessible shuttle will bring guests to Rice Creek. This shuttle will run in a continuous loop every ~10 minutes beginning at 8:45 am and ending 4:45 pm. This change comes at the request of University Police, to alleviate congestion near the Rice Creek building. Ticket holders will not need a parking pass to park in this lot on eclipse day.

It's difficult to say. What many locations experienced during the 2017 eclipse was that traffic was manageable before the eclipse, but right after totality, roads were clogged with people leaving the same area at the same time. Sometimes traffic jams lasted for hours. Here are our tips to avoid or minimize traffic issues:

• Make sure your vehicle is gassed up (or charged) before Monday, April 8.
• Keep a few supplies in your vehicle, like extra water and snacks.
• Plan to arrive early. The eclipse begins at 2:08 p.m. and totality begins at 3:21 p.m. Arriving just beforehand is a sure recipe for stress - and potentially a missed eclipse viewing opportunity if you encounter traffic. Our event begins at 9 a.m. and guests can arrive anytime afterward.
• Don't rush to leave. Totality ends at 3:25 p.m., but the eclipse -- and our event -- runs until 4:35 p.m. Traffic will likely be worst right after totality. We encourage guests to wait 30-60 minutes before leaving and enjoy the end of the eclipse.
• When you leave, using a navigation app like Waze or Google Maps may help you avoid congested routes.

Not yet!

Six Charge Point EV chargers are available on the SUNY Oswego main campus in the parking lot south of the Shineman Center - an 11-minute walk from Lot EC-7. Bear in mind that there will likely be significant demand for these chargers, and that guests are asked to charge for no longer than four hours at a time. 

There are two EVolve NY 150 kw fast chargers located in downtown Oswego, which could be used before or after our program. Again, bear in mind the probable increased demand on eclipse day.

Certainly! You can use the special eclipse shuttle to return to Lot EC-7 and from there, you can walk to the Shineman Center (an 11-minute walk). Faculty, staff, and students can also ride the the OSW-11 Green Route Shuttle. Since traffic may be backed up on eclipse day, we don't recommend cutting timing too close if you would like to be in a certain location for totality.

Tickets are needed for certain on-campus events but many (like the weather balloon launches) are open to the public. Visit tickets.oswego.edu to learn more.

Dr. Kamal Jabbour, who runs the Pompey Observatory and is a member of the Syracuse Astronomical Society, will be streaming from several telescopes at Rice Creek on eclipse day. 

These YouTube links (@PompeyObservatory) will go live by 9 a.m. on April 8, 2024:

• Telescope Stream 1, featuring views from multiple telescopes (full-disc images of the sun, with white light and H-alpha filters, and zoomed in views of sunspots and other solar phenomena from Rice Creek's large 16" telescope)
• Telescope Stream 2, featuring all-day, single-telescope coverage of the eclipse (full-disc image of the sun with white light filter)

Additional details from Dr. Jabbour:

* Stream 1 will show a montage of three telescopes, 16-inch Meade LX200GPS telescope (the large telescope in Rice Creek's dome) with white light filter for close-up looks at sunspots, a Lunt LS50T Hydrogen Alpha telescope for full-disk looks at solar prominences, flares, faculae and filaments (the 3Fs of x-ray imaging of the sun), and a ZWO Seestar S50 smart telescope with ND100000 neutral density white light filter for a full view of the sun. This stream will switch among the three telescopes as necessary. LIVE commentary will be provided by domain experts with over a century of combined expertise.

* Stream 2 will track the sun all day and through all stages of the eclipse with a silent DWARF II smart telescope equipped with a ND1000000 (an extra zero more than the Seestar!) filter.