A solar eclipse happens when the moon passes between the sun and Earth so that the Moon blocks out all or part of the Sun.  Tomorrow the northern hemisphere, and the West Coast especially, will have good viewing of a partial eclipse. The North East will have best viewing around sunset, and you can expect to see about a quarter of the sun blocked.

Experts recommend not looking at the sun directly but there are several types of viewers that you can make with your scout in order to see this event safely. To make a 30-second pinhole camera, punch a small hole into a piece of cardboard or heavy, dark paper that will block out most of the light. Hold a white piece of paper a few feet away, altering the distance in order to focus the eclipsed sunlight.

Here a tiny hole in a piece of cardboard serves as a fast and easy pinhole viewer. You’ll need to play around with the angle a little to get it to focus.

If you have a little more time you can make a more elaborate version still using items from around the house.  You can check out a step-by-step method for making a pinhole camera out of a toilet paper role here from ThriftyFun.com.