Doug Burgess’ science classroom went dark this week and that’s when his seventh-graders saw the light - and colors.

The Providence Day science teacher is in the midst of introducing students to how light produces color and how color is seen in the world. It comes on the heels of a unit on light and shadows when students learn about solar and lunar eclipses.

It’s a fitting set of lessons - Mr. Burgess has witnessed a pair of total solar eclipses. He will experience the 2024 total solar eclipse set to cross North America, passing over Mexico, the U.S., and Canada on April 8. The next total solar eclipse for North America won’t happen again until 2045.

“When I was eight, a total solar eclipse passed through where I was living in eastern North Carolina, which was an awesome thing for a child to see,” he says. “ I was able to see the total eclipse when it passed through South Carolina in 2017, and now, thanks to the overwhelming generosity of the Providence Day School community, I get the chance to witness my third one.”

Mr. Burgess received a grant from the Downing-Williams Endowment to view the eclipse in Austin, Texas. The endowment was established in 2018 with the philanthropic support of alumni parents Nancy and Bruce Downing.

Mr. Burgess will watch and study the eclipse for his students.

“I love this class,” seventh-grader Peyton Ward says. “It’s interesting, and it will be interesting to hear about the eclipse.”

A rare phenomenon

Peyton and her class spent time this week figuring out the process of color subtraction.

“We’re taking something we see every day and finding out what produces it,” she says. “You learn so much.”

Peyton’s passion for science mirrors her teacher’s - Mr. Burgess is fascinated with studying space travel and astronomy - and credits the Apollo astronauts and their trips to the moon.

“I give much credit to those pioneers who greatly influenced my love and enthusiasm for science,” he says.

The total solar eclipse, where the moon's shadow blocks out the sun, won’t be able to be seen in North Carolina, according to NASA. Instead, the path of the eclipse will enter the U.S. in Texas and travel through Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine. Small parts of Tennessee and Michigan will also experience the total solar eclipse.

“In seventh-grade science, we spend the entire second semester studying the nature and behavior of light, including how light forms shadows,” Mr. Burgess says. “This event not only gives me a unique opportunity to experience a rare and beautiful scientific phenomenon but also to record it to bring back to teach our students.”