Bloomfield Hills residents can watch a partial solar eclipse through professional telescopes and hear two poets read in dialogue with Joan Mitchell's paintings, all within the same Cranbrook campus this August.

Solar eclipse at the Institute of Science

Michigan will experience a partial solar eclipse on Wednesday, August 12, and Cranbrook Institute of Science is building a full day around it. The Discovery Days: Partial Solar Eclipse program runs from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at 1 Institute Way, Bloomfield Hills.

The eclipse itself begins in the Detroit area at 1:03 p.m., reaches maximum coverage at 1:36 p.m., and ends at 2:08 p.m. Members of the Warren Astronomical Society will be on-site with their telescopes, and the Cranbrook Observatory opens from 1 to 3 p.m.

Hands-on activities for families include safe solar viewing with a Sunspotter (no glasses needed), an Eclipse Maker demonstration using flashlights and balls, UV-sensitive bead experiments, and a space-objects sorting game. All Discovery Days activities are free with museum admission; members get in free. Advance online registration is encouraged.

The institute hosts two more evening sky events in August. A Perseid Meteor Shower Viewing Party starts at 8 p.m. that same night, August 12. Tickets are $50 in advance for the general public, $42.50 for members. A Partial Lunar Eclipse ("Blood Moon") Viewing Party follows on Thursday, August 27, at 8 p.m., with tickets at $20 in advance, according to Little Guide Detroit.

Poetry meets painting at the Art Museum

Saturday, August 8, brings a different kind of experience. Cranbrook Art Museum presents Monumental Connection: Three Fold from 1 to 3 p.m. at 39221 Woodward Ave., Bloomfield Hills. The program pairs New York-based poet Eléna Rivera, whose work with Three Fold has engaged the paintings of Joan Mitchell, with Detroit-based poet Chris Tysh for readings in dialogue with art and place.

Three Fold is a local nonprofit arts journal. The event is the second installment in the museum's Monumental Connection series, which invites performers to respond to the summer exhibition "Monumental Color: Cecily Brown, Sam Gilliam, and Joan Mitchell," on view through September 6. The reading is free with museum admission. Thursdays offer free admission all day.

The Art Museum is open Wednesday through Sunday, with hours of 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. most days and extended to 8 p.m. on Thursdays.

Upcoming Cranbrook events

  • Saturday, August 8 — Monumental Connection: Three Fold, Cranbrook Art Museum, 1–3 p.m. (free with admission)
  • Wednesday, August 12 — Discovery Days: Partial Solar Eclipse, Cranbrook Institute of Science, 11 a.m.–3 p.m. (free with admission)
  • Wednesday, August 12 — Perseid Meteor Shower Viewing Party, Cranbrook Institute of Science, 8 p.m. ($50 advance/$42.50 members)
  • Thursday, August 13 — Poolside Performance with Leith Campbell, Cranbrook Art Museum, 6:30 p.m.
  • Saturday, August 22 — Family Workshop: Poetic Pastels, Cranbrook Art Museum
  • Thursday, August 27 — Partial Lunar Eclipse Viewing Party, Cranbrook Institute of Science, 8 p.m. ($20 advance/$17.50 members)