Eclipse events scheduled; housing available for media. Oregon State University, which is directly in the path of the Aug. 21 total eclipse and has three days of eclipse-related events planned, has reserved rooms for news media interested in covering the festivities. Thousands of visitors are expected for the event and other area lodging has already been booked. The OSU150 Space Grant Festival: A Total Eclipse Experience Aug. 19-21 features eclipse-related exhibits, demonstrations, talks from OSU astronomy and science experts and entertainment. The event culminates in an eclipse watch party the morning of Aug. 21. Journalists are welcome to attend all of the free, public festival activities. Most events will be held in the Memorial Union building and MU Quad in the center of campus. The eclipse viewing party will be at Student Legacy Park just north of Gill Coliseum. The Alaska Space Grant team will be at OSU to launch a high-altitude balloon as part of a first-ever project to capture video footage of the eclipse as it traverses the country. Video footage from space grant affiliates across the U.S. will be shown as a live feed on NASA TV. Oregon will be the first state to view the eclipse. Oregon also has the highest probability of clear weather on Aug. 21 out of all states within the “path of totality,” where the moon will completely block the sun about 10:17 a.m. About lodging: A limited number of single rooms with a private bathroom are available for media on a first-come, first-serve basis for $46 per night, with free parking available for broadcast media trucks and equipment. For reservations, contact Jill Peters, event coordinator, 503-551-2900, jill.peters@oregonstate.edu Media contacts: Jill Peters, event coordinator, 503-551-2900, jill.peters@oregonstate.edu; Steve Clark, OSU spokesperson, 503-502-8217, steve.clark@oregonstate.edu; Festival information: http://oregonstate.edu/eclipse The eclipse events kick off Oregon State University’s 150th anniversary celebration, which extends through fall 2018. OSU is the lead institution for the Oregon NASA Space Grant and the only four-year college in Oregon with an aerospace engineering program.
