Southeast Missouri State University once again serves a front-row seat for the Great American Solar Eclipse on Monday, April 8, 2024, with educational opportunities, fun, games, and one of the greatest shows on earth to close out its sesquicentennial celebration.

Cape Girardeau is near the eclipse centerline and will experience totality (darkness as the moon passes in front of the sun) for more than four minutes starting at 1:58:22 p.m. (CDT). Eclipse viewing locations will be available on Normal Avenue and the River Campus.

In addition to the eclipse, Southeast has an afternoon of activities planned on campus for students and campus community. Classes will be canceled from 11 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. to allow students to experience the celestial phenomenon and the activities planned.

SEclipse Block Party on Normal Avenue
Starting at 11 a.m., SEMO will host a block party on Normal Avenue to include eclipse-themed games, inflatables, a student organization fair, kickoff to SEMO’s Greek Week, and food trucks. Normal Avenue will be closed to traffic beginning Sunday, April 7, at 9 p.m.

River Campus Celebration
Southeast’s River Campus will take an artistic approach to viewing the eclipse, with live performances by music, theatre and dance students from the Holland College of Arts and Media. Also on the lineup are displays, exhibitions, interactive activities, food trucks, a photo booth, jewelry making, and more.

University Teach-In
SEMO has various guest speakers, including two from NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center scheduled to appear in Academic Auditorium beginning at 10:30 a.m. Confirmed NASA guests include Matt McSavaney, lead with the Architecture Baseline team with the Artemis Moon to Mars Program at NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, and Blake Parker, payload operations and integration specialist at NASA Marshall Space Flight Center.

Visiting SEMO
Southeast is inviting area high schools to view the eclipse and tour campus on this day. The Office of Admissions will host a brief program, followed by a walking tour and lunch before joining the SEclipse Block Party on Normal Avenue. Interested schools can contact admissions@semo.edu for more information.

All activities are open to the campus community and are free of charge, with the exception of items purchased at food trucks. Viewing a partial eclipse can only be done safely with special solar eclipse glasses. Once the eclipse hits totality, the glasses can be removed. Southeast will have a limited number of solar glasses available at its viewing events for the campus community.