Eclipse glasses hard to find locally in days leading up to big event

Cardboard frames for solar eclipse glasses are stacked in the American Paper Optics factory in Bartlett, Tenn., on Wednesday, June 21, 2017. (AP Photo/Adrian Sainz)

The special glasses needed to safely view Monday’s solar eclipse might be more rare than the eclipse itself at this point.

The Journal-World spent a good chunk of Thursday morning calling around to local retailers and inquiring about supplies of eclipse glasses. Prospects aren’t good, we’re sorry to report.

Both Hy-Vee and Walmart locations are completely sold out. Ditto with all four Dillons stores in town. Employees at Cottin’s Hardware and Rental, Ernst and Son Hardware and Westlake Ace Hardware also reported being sold out, with no shipments expected to arrive before Monday’s eclipse.

The Lawrence Public Library, one of the more widely publicized glasses distributors in town, still has a very limited number of shades after big giveaways earlier this month. Library staff on Thursday said around 200 pairs would be distributed to visitors during Sunday’s “The Great American Eclipse of 2017.” The free event, slated for 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. in the library auditorium, will include a discussion of the science behind the eclipse with Bruce Twarog, a professor of physics and astronomy at the University of Kansas.

Aside from that, pickings are pretty slim. KU’s department of physics and astronomy, along with several other KU entities, is hosting a communitywide viewing party from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Monday at Shenk Sports Complex. Eclipse glasses will be distributed at the event and also earlier that morning at several locations across the KU campus. Here’s a complete list of venues, courtesy of the KU department of physics and astronomy.

(Distribution will take place from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m. or until supplies run out.)

  • Capitol Federal Hall
  • DeBruce Center/KU Info
  • Eaton Hall/LEEP2
  • Green Hall
  • Joseph R. Pearson Hall
  • KU Dining locations (distribution begins at breakfast and will continue until all glasses are gone)
  • KU Parking
  • KU Natural History Museum
  • Nunemaker Hall
  • KU School of Pharmacy
  • Stauffer-Flint Hall
  • Student Affairs welcome/info tables in front of Wescoe Hall and Strong Hall
  • SUA Info Booth at Kansas Union
  • Kansas Athletics

If you know where to find the coveted glasses, let us know. In the meanwhile, we’ll update this list as information becomes available.