FREMONT, Ohio — A historic site in Fremont is planning a big weekend for a historic event.
Like many tourism destinations in northwest Ohio, the Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Library & Museums in Fremont is expecting a lot of visitors the weekend before the total solar eclipse on April 8.
There is one problem though. The grounds of Speigel Grove where the museum is host 1,700 trees, so it's not the best place for observing the eclipse.
"Because we are an arboretum, we have more than 1,700 trees, so it might be hard to see it here," said Kristina Smith, marketing and events coordinator for the museum. "But we have a ton of things going on right before, so we're hoping that locals and people visiting will stop by and enjoy themselves before they get to their viewing area."
There will be a weekend of activities leading up to the eclipse including Spiegel Glow on April 5.
"Glow sticks, glow-in-the-dark face painting, virtual reality goggles where you can actually watch a past solar eclipse to get you ready for what you might see on Monday," Smith said.
And since last fall, the center has offered a special exhibit called "Chasing Totality: The History and Science of Eclipses," which showcases how past eclipses were viewed by ancient cultures, 19th and 20th centuries and explains the upcoming eclipse in detail.
One exhibit shows how in 1887, astronomer Theodor von Oppolzer predicted thousands of solar eclipse events, including the upcoming one in April.
You'll also have a chance to see a unique artifact on loan from the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Mich.: a tasimeter designed by Thomas Edison in 1878 specifically to view a total solar eclipse.
Hayes staff members are excited by the prospect of welcoming new visitors to the area for the event.
But they also wanted to make sure folks who live in the area have plenty of options, too.
"We are expecting this big influx of people coming into our area, but locals are also very excited about it," Smith said. "This is such a big event. It really is a once-in-a-lifetime event."