Solar Eclipse: SIU Renting Out Dorm Rooms

CARBONDALE, IL — Carbondale, Illinois will be center stage for Aug. 21's total solar eclipse, and with hotels around the city booked solid, Southern Illinois University is renting out dorm rooms in a vacant residence hall slated for demolition. The SIU Housing Department says it will offer hundreds of rooms at Schneider Hall. The price tag is $400 for one night's stay, according to SIU.

Although eclipse viewing events are scheduled around the state, the Carbondale area will see the longest duration of the totality (with the sun completely blocked out) of the eclipse. The solar event is expected to last around 2 full minutes near Carbondale.

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SIU's Saluki Stadium is hosting a daylong event for $25 per person to mark the Aug. 21 eclipse. Adler Planetarium of Chicago and the Louisiana Space Consortium will also host on-campus events that day, which include the Crossroads Eclipse 2017 Research Workshop, an arts-and-crafts fair and Eclipse Comic Con 2017. Meanwhile, Carbondale's entire downtown section will transform into the Shadow Fest music festival starting on Aug. 19.

Alum Raymond Roth told WSIL-TV he's paying $400 to stay in Schneider Hall, where he lived during his college years. "They're even going to put me in my same room, which is kind of fun," Roth added.

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Unfortunately, those who haven't already booked a spot are out of luck. As of Monday, SIU said Schneider Hall and University Hall were both booked solid.

Morthland College in West Frankfort is also renting out dorm rooms for the big event, according to WSIL.

Watch what happens during a solar eclipse:

Photo by Arne Danielson/NASA