A group from the University of Wisconsin at Stevens Point found Goshen County to be a perfect spot for their research during the Great American Eclipse on Monday, including creative uses of Girl Scout Cookies.
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FORT LARAMIE – A group from the University of Wisconsin at Stevens Point found Goshen County to be a perfect spot for their research during the Great American Eclipse on Monday, including creative uses of Girl Scout Cookies.
Joining the three separate research teams – one at Fort Laramie National Historic Site and two across the state line in Nebraska – was a group of Girl Scouts from the Madison, Wisc., area. By poking small holes in the cookies, the girls utilized the ubiquitous pastries to make the lenses of pinhole-type cameras. They then projected an image of the moon creeping over the crescent of the sun onto white paper, letting them track the progress toward totality.
“I really want to see a full eclipse,” said Girl Scout Josalynn Dunn, 12. “That sounds so cool.”
By late morning, the Wisconsin group had been joined at Fort Laramie by an estimated 2,000 or more from around the country and the world, said Eric Valencia, director of interpretation for the site. Final numbers won’t be available until later in the week but, with space and services planned for some 5,000, he said, that estimate was probably low.
“Things are going smoothly,” Valencia said. “Our planning has paid off.
“It’s really fun to see the level of enthusiasm people have for the eclipse,” he said. “I think we’ve met our goal of providing a save environment for eclipse watching.”
The three UWSP research teams, made up of current students, alumni and university staff, planned a multi-disciplinary research adventure during the eclipse Monday, said Nancy Stokosa, academic associate in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the school. The studies combined geography, biology, physics and biology to look at a variety of effects from the total eclipse as it moved across the region.