Orlando Science Center host huge party for solar eclipse

Eclipse watch party hosted in Orlando

The Orlando Science Center hosted an eclipse watch party Saturday afternoon

ORLANDO, Fla. - The Sunshine State was a little dimmer, on Saturday. 

Florida – and much of the country – got the chance to see a solar eclipse. At the Orlando Science Center, that was a reason to party.

"Right now, at this time, we have a little bit of bite taken out of the sun by the moon that's crossing in front," said Eric Hoin, an OSC volunteer, "little by little, we're going to lose about 65 percent."

The science center hosted a special event to celebrate the eclipse, with plenty of educational toys and games. "It's just a rock," said 11-year-old Lucas Strunk, who was visiting with his family, "we're just a rock floating in the middle of nothing-ness, and there's so much out there."

In the US, only the Western states saw a full eclipse, this time. Still, it was an exciting celestial event. "Take a look at the skies," Hoin said, "there's always something to learn, everything's always changing."

Even though the moon blocked the sun's light for part of the afternoon, specialists warned it was still as dangerous as ever to look directly at the sun. You could only do it with special glasses. "It's really the only safe way to look directly at the sun, unless you have an observatory that has a solar telescope or those really expensive solar binoculars, you can also do it that way, but they really need to have this very strong solar filter on them," said Zachary Mailhot, an OSC science program specialist.

The next solar eclipse in the US will be on April 8. Again, it will only be a partial eclipse in Florida. With crowds learning about science and astronomy, parents hoped the OSC eclipse party would inspire a new generation of young stargazers. 

"It gives them a sense of hey, something that I enjoy doing," said Dustin Allard, who was visiting with his son, "I will be able to do not only as a kid, but as an adult, and continue to enjoy it."