PERSPECTIVE article
Front. Astron. Space Sci.
Sec. Space Physics
This article is part of the Research TopicHeliophysics Big Year: Education and Public Outreach ReportsView all 18 articles
Under One Arkansas Sky: Bridging Science and Community in Rural America
Provisionally accepted
- 1West Virginia University, Morgantown, United States
- 2Pulaski Academy, Little Rock, United States
- 3Southwest Research Institute Boulder, Boulder, United States
- 4Sky & Telescope, Cambridge, United States
- 5Blue Origin, Kent, United States
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The 2024 total solar eclipse offered a rare opportunity to connect world-class space scientists with communities in rural America. Here, we reflect on a grassroots outreach event held in Dardanelle, Arkansas, a small farming town located along the path of totality. Nearly one hundred participants including NASA and university affiliated scientists, engineers, educators, students, and local residents gathered to witness the eclipse together. Visitors conducted scientific demonstrations, hosted a star party, and carried out a successful eclipse observation experiment. These activities provided authentic, personal encounters between scientists and the public, fostering curiosity and trust in a region rarely engaged by NASA programs. Drawing on this successful experience, we recommend that future scientific funding agencies expand their outreach efforts by direct partnering with small towns, collaborating with local libraries, and involving scientists with rural ties. These strategies broaden the direct community engagement with real scientists across the United States helping them to develop a scientific identity and a sense of involvement with the space sciences.
Keywords: Arkansas, eclipse, Heliophysics, outreach, rural, Science, Solar
Received: 26 Nov 2025; Accepted: 12 Jan 2026.
Copyright: © 2026 Shaver, Dudley, Molnar, Walker, Quist and Goodrich. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Skylar Ring Shaver
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