Important Information about Baylor University and the 2024 Total Solar Eclipse

Dear Baylor Faculty, Staff, and Students,

On April 8, 2024, Waco will be one of the best places in the United States to view the 2024 total solar eclipse – an event that occurs when the moon passes between the sun and Earth, completely blocking the face of the sun. The sky will darken as if it were dawn or dusk.

Partnering with Lowell Observatory, Discovery Channel and the City of Waco, Baylor will host “Eclipse Over Texas” at McLane Stadium. This watch party and festival will run from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., with science talks, food trucks and designated spaces with unobstructed views of the sky to watch the eclipse, guided by expert astronomers from Baylor University and Lowell Observatory.

Here are four important things to note about the eclipse and Baylor’s schedule:

• Baylor will celebrate Diadeloso on the same day as the eclipse, and we will not hold classes that day. Students will have opportunities incorporated into the Dia schedule to participate in eclipse activities.
• The weekly class schedule will be altered to make up for the lost class day. Please note: even though the day after the eclipse, April 9, is a Tuesday, that day will count as an instructional Monday. In other words, students will attend their Monday classes on Tuesday, April 9. Monday classes will meet in lieu of Tuesday classes.
• City officials expect more than 100,000 visitors to Waco for the eclipse events on April 8. Hotel rooms are sold out in Waco and the surrounding area. The city will be filled with visitors, so be careful and patient if your plans take you into the city.
• If you would like to participate in the Eclipse Over Texas events at McLane Stadium as a volunteer or buy a tickets to the festival events, visit the Eclipse Over Texas website. Tickets cost $20 and include solar glasses with which to safely view the eclipse.

We hope you will take the time to participate in Diadeloso and the Eclipse of Texas events. The 2024 total solar eclipse will be the last one visible in the United States until 2044.