Hundreds flock to Vernon Hills library to view eclipse

Hundreds of people gathered on the lawn outside the Aspen Drive Library in Vernon Hills to watch Monday's solar eclipse.

Many used special glasses provided by the library to enjoy the phenomenon. Some used homemade viewers or their cellphones.

Mundelein resident Rupa Vaniyamparambath brought her 10-year-old daughter, Shivani, and a young neighbor to the library to watch the eclipse.

"We have not done this before, and this may be the last time we are doing it," Vaniyamparambath said.

Vernon Hills resident Evan Ledyard called viewing the eclipse a highlight of his life. The last eclipse he remembers occurred while he was in elementary school, and he was underwhelmed.

"Now I'm an adult and I can take it in for what it is," he said.

The library gave away nearly 300 pairs of special glasses. They came from a group called Star Net that helps libraries provide science and technology related activities.

Inside the library, people made pinhole cameras and enjoyed a live NASA broadcast of the eclipse.

Cook Memorial Public Library District Director David Archer said the crowd exceeded his expectations.

"We've seen interest in the eclipse explode over the past two weeks," Archer said. "Most people have a shared wonderment of space, and the fascination of the eclipse has been infectious."

The Aspen Drive Library's sister facility in Libertyville, the Cook Park Library, also gave away glasses and offered eclipse activities.