On April 8, millions of people in the United States experienced a thrill of a lifetime — seeing a total solar eclipse.
I was among those lucky people. After failing to get organized early enough to book lodging in the path of totality, I noted my failure in an editor’s note. Science News readers Kathy and Paul Mathews then emailed me to offer their guest room in Ohio. I didn’t want to impose, but Kathy and Paul assured me that it would be no problem. You’d think they welcome itinerant eclipse chasers every day.
Not surprisingly, Kathy and Paul turned out to be kind, funny, smart and curious about the world — typical Science News readers. We watched the eclipse on the shore of Lake Erie with their friends, including Dan Pfeiffer, who had stayed up until 1 a.m. the night before prepping telescopes and building a projector to assure the best possible viewing experience. It was sublime.
Kathy and Paul also are typical of many longtime print readers; they worked in STEM, and Paul teaches statistics. But that definition of “typical” reader is evolving. Last year, more than 17 million people read Science News articles on our website. Online readers are less likely to work in STEM or education, often encountering us when they see one of our articles pop up in search engine results or on social media. And 8 million or so people follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and other social platforms.
Adding even more variety, students at almost 6,000 high schools get free copies of the magazine through our Science News Learning program. Most of the schools serve low-income communities that often lack up-to-date textbooks. The magazine and accompanying educator resources help teachers and young people connect with the latest science. The program is made possible by contributions from individuals and institutions; you can learn more about the program at the Science News Learning educator portal.