The parking lots and grounds of Pineland Farms in New Gloucester on Monday afternoon were speckled with people with their heads turned to the clear blue sky to view the partial solar eclipse.

From 2:30 to 3:33 p.m. the spectators witnessed the astronomical phenomenon of the moon covering most of the sun, some for the first time.

Kelsie Rioux and Tyler Bachelder of Turner brought their two children to view their first-ever eclipse. Kynslee Rioux, an elementary school  student, said she was “excited” to see it.

“They did a project in school on it today,” her mother said.

Starting about 2 p.m., several families set up their viewing sites in a Pineland parking lot. Sitting in camp chairs or in the beds of pickup trucks, some played games while they waited for the big event, checking often on the positions of the moon and the sun through their special eclipse glasses.

Over the course of an hour, the sky became gradually darker, until the sun was almost fully eclipsed.

Carrie and Rick Fortino of Westbrook brought their daughter Maghan Miller of Windham and her son Gavin Miller to view the eclipse.

Maghan Miller said her son was excited to see his first eclipse.

“I’ve seen an eclipse before, but it’s still cool,” Carrie Fortino told Lakes Region Weekly. “I used to do the shoebox thing as a kid.”