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Celestfest draws huge crowds to see solar eclipse in Bloomington

Posted at 8:03 PM, Aug 21, 2017
and last updated 2017-08-21 20:03:54-04

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Thousands of people attended IU’s solar eclipse festival Monday to witness history.

Crowds met at the amphitheater outside of Bryan House to be part of Celestfest that celebrated science.

While many people purchased special glasses for the event, IU student Robert Baxter crafted his own.

"It's a pinhole camera it is how they have doing it for hundreds, even thousands of years,” he said. “I was procrastinating and I wasn’t paying attention to how quickly they were disappearing. It is low tech and it still works."

People of all ages watched the eclipse, ate moon pies and listened to live music.

“I may not be alive to see the next one,” said Diane Aguilar. “I viewed the one a few years ago I think it's a great thing to see."

 

In Indianapolis, crowds gathered at Holliday Park to get a glimpse of the eclipse. Park staff provided glasses to nearly 200 people. 

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