Eclipse 2017 In The Hudson Valley: Heed This Warning| Try These Viewing Ideas| Watch These Videos

Everyone's all excited about Monday's solar eclipse. Here in the Hudson Valley, the moon will occlude 68-70 percent of the sun.

"As far as the weather is concerned, viewing conditions will be quite good," promises Bill Potter of Hudson Valley Weather.

But real solar eclipse glasses are nearly impossible to find at this point. What can you do? Here are four ideas and a warning.

Go To The Eclipse Party At Pace

The event will be held from 1:30-3 p.m. It'll be hosted by the new college President Marvin Krislov and the Astronomy Club, and there will be a Q&A with Astronomy Professor Matt Ganis. And refreshments, did we mention refreshments? 861 Bedford Road, Pleasantville, NY. Use Entrance 2.

SEE: Solar Eclipse 2017: What The Hudson Valley Will See [VIDEO]

Let The Boy Scouts Help You Prepare

Get your family, grab a shoe box, tin foil, tape and scissors and make your own solar eclipse device. The Boy Scouts of America put together a great video showing how easy it is to make your own viewing device to watch the eclipse. This is the perfect way to view the solar eclipse and spend time with the family!

Try Neil DeGrasse Tyson's Low-Tech Method

Get a colander or spaghetti strainer or colander — the plastic or metal kind with holes, not mesh — and take it outside. Hold it out over the sidewalk. Each one of its holes will act as a pinhole camera so you will see many images of the crescent sun on the ground.

How About A Higher View?

This Is What New York Will See:

Keep Children From Peeking Directly At The Sun

Optometrist Michael Schecter posted a warning to parents on social media:

There are serious risks associated with viewing a solar eclipse directly, even with the use of solar filter glasses.

For instance, true solar eclipse glasses are made for adults, do not fit children well and should not be used without direct parental supervision. If the solar glasses do not filter out 100% of the harmful UV rays, if they are not used absolutely perfectly, or should there be a manufacturing defect in any of them, this will result in permanent and irreversible vision loss for any eye exposed. Just like sunburn to the skin, the effects are not felt or noticed immediately. I have a great fear that I will have patients in my office on Tuesday, Aug 22 who woke up with hazy, blurry vision that I cannot fix. It is a huge risk to watch the eclipse even with the use of solar glasses. There is no absolutely safe way to do so other than on TV.

The biggest danger with children is ensuring proper use without direct parental supervision. As the eclipse passes over many places, including Columbus, the moon will not block 100% of the sun. Because so much of its light is blocked by the moon, if one looks at it without full protection, it does not cause pain as looking at the sun does on a regular day. Normally if you try to look at the sun, it physically hurts and you can't see anything. During an eclipse, however, it is easier to stare for a bit....and even less than 30 seconds of exposure to a partially eclipsed sun, you can burn a blind spot right to your most precious central vision. With solar glasses you can't see ANYTHING except the crescent of light of the sun. Kids could have a tendency to want to peak around the filter to see what is actually going on up there. One failure, just one, where education and supervision fail, will have such a devastating consequence.

Please, please be safe. Watch it on television.

Learn How An Eclipse Messes With Our Weather And The Power Grid

When an eclipse blocks out the sun, it affects the weather — and causes hiccups in an increasingly solar-dependent power grid.