Nearly 3000 Attend WKCTC 'Night at Noon' Event

Nearly 3,000 people were on hand on the campus of West Kentucky Community and Technical College Monday afternoon to watch the first total solar eclipse in the continental United States in 38 years.

Visitors enjoyed activities, music, science demonstrations, food from local vendors, and had the opportunity to see the NASA high altitude balloon launch. The launch, conducted by a team of students and faculty from Kentucky Space Grant Consortium at Bluegrass Community and Technical College (BCTC), and a team from the University of Connecticut Hartford and the University of Connecticut Bridgeport, was as part of a nationwide, NASA-sponsored project to live-stream aerial video footage of the "Great American Eclipse." From the cameras mounted in the balloon that traveled up to 100,000 feet into the air. Footage from the camera, and the many other launches from teams across the country will be available for public viewing on NASA's website, nasa.gov.

Folks from all over the world attended WKCTC's Night at Noon event. "I've wanted to see an eclipse for years; I missed the one several years ago in the UK," said Claire Brooks of Sheffield, England, who also traveled over 20 hours to be in Paducah for the big day. "Everyone has been brilliant since we arrived. To be part of a community event like this is great!"

The Zlotogorski family traveled by plane, train and car for more than 22 hours from their home in Jerusalem to see the eclipse. "We started planning this one year ago in August. I read many, many sites and I somehow reached Paducah,....we thought this was the best place for us," said Krassi Zlotogorski.

Former astronaut and Kentucky native Colonel Terry Wilcutt was Night at Noon's eclipse emcee. He spoke with area middle and high school students and visitors about his space experiences, NASA's current programs, and the concepts behind the awe-inspiring cosmic event. "We (NASA Educational Outreach) like anything that makes people think about science...that will hopefully inspire some of the kids and others to STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) careers." He said. Wilcutt has been a special guest at Paducah's Challenger Learning Center many times, including the day the center opened in August 2002. Monday's visit and participation in Night at Noon offered something new for him.

Night at Noon Chairperson and Challenger Learning Center at Paducah (CLC) Director Melissa Duncan said she was thrilled with Monday's Night at Noon event, a culmination of a year's planning with the event committee.

"I want to thank the committee, college employees and all the volunteers that helped make Night at Noon so successful. We've been planning for over a year and are happy we had great event!" she said.

"Our Night at Noon eclipse event also aligned with our education mission to promote and raise awareness about careers in Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math (STEAM), such as the curriculum taught at our CLC," said WKCTC President Dr. Anton Reece. "Last, I would like to thank all of our Night at Noon volunteers, Paducah Police department, and other emergency response agencies."