Donate your solar eclipse glasses at campus libraries

Now that the total solar eclipse has passed, what can you do with your solar eclipse glasses?

Community members who aren’t tucking them away as a keepsake are invited to donate them so they can be used again.

The glasses will be donated to the Astronomers Without Borders Solar Eclipse Glasses Recycling Campaign. The U.S.-based organization collects gently-used eclipse glasses from across the U.S. and Canada to send to underserved communities and schools internationally for use in future solar eclipses.

The Royal Astronomical Society of Canada will inspect and store the glasses while Astronomers Without Borders processes the influx of recent donations.

McMaster libraries distributed more than 40,000 pairs of certified eclipse glasses to community members ahead of the rare celestial event. The glasses were made available courtesy of the Office of the Provost and the Faculty of Science.

The university also partnered with several community organizations including the Hamilton, Burlington, Norfolk, Haldimand, Six Nations and Brantford public libraries to distribute eclipse glasses to community members.

What you need to know:

• Glasses will be accepted at drop-off locations until Tuesday, April 30, 2024
• Here’s where you can drop off your eclipse glasses:
  • In the donation boxes inside Thode, Mills and Health Sciences libraries
  • In room 214 of the Life Science Building

Learn more here.