Solar eclipses are an extremely big deal. I remember seeing one when I was about 11 and it was the most fascinating phenomenon I have ever had the privilege to witness. It was the middle of the day, but it suddenly got darker and darker until it was basically night.

I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. So I had to look it up in the encyclopedia (remember those?) to find out what actually happened. That’s when I learned about the awesomeness of solar eclipses.

So when I learned that those of us in the Northern Hemisphere were going to get a look at a solar eclipse on August 21, 2017, I got super excited and decided to make another one of our coffee filter crafts for kids: a simple coffee filter solar eclipse craft with my little ones!

This easy coffee filter craft is a great activity to share as part of a solar system unit study or as a fun summer craft! (By the way, check out the video tutorial for a look at this project in action.)

Read on to see how to make this yourself! And, if your kids enjoy this project, check out this All About the Solar System printable pack for more ways to learn about our galaxy!

What is a Solar Eclipse?

If you’d like to learn about what a solar eclipse actually is, here’s a great video that explains the basics to kids.

If you’re wondering when is the next total solar eclipse for North America, it will come around on April 8, 2024. So we have a bit of a wait.

The next Southern Hemisphere total eclipse will occur on July 2, 2019. Cross-continent road trip, anyone?

In case your kids have never seen one, here’s what a solar eclipse can actually look like.

Since the moon is passing between the sun and the earth, we usually get to see a blackened circle with a white ring of light around the outside – the sun’s rays glowing around the shape of the moon.

That’s what we’re going to recreate with this easy craft!

Coffee Filter Crafts for Kids: Coffee Filter Solar Eclipse Craft

To make this solar eclipse craft, you’ll need the following supplies: (This post contains affiliate links. For details, see our Disclosure Policy.)

• Two white basket coffee filters
• Construction paper (We used a black sheet of construction paper.)
• Glue stick
• Crayons (You’ll be using a black crayon and a white crayon for this. You could also use colored pencils if you prefer.)

Start by gluing one of the coffee filters onto a piece of black construction paper. Leave this one white to form the “sun” part of the eclipse.

Be sure to turn the paper horizontally and glue the white filter at one short end.

Now use a black crayon to color the other coffee filter black. This will form the “moon” part of the eclipse.

Glue the black coffee filter onto the construction paper, overlapping the white filter to show the eclipse in progress.

Use a white colored pencil to draw the bright “rays” of the sun emanating from behind the eclipse as the moon approaches.

Finally, draw a few stars on the darkened side.

And we’re done!

For a project that only took five minutes, this solar eclipse craft was a great outer space project for the little ones!

Check out these other outer space activities for kids!

And don’t miss our printable Spanish solar system flashcards!

See even more ideas for learning about space on my It’s Science Pinterest board!