WORKSHOPS
There are several workshops available and these can be specifically tailored to the particular ages or key stages of your group. Workshops currently available are detailed below and are available to schools, youth groups, home education groups and adults. Groups can be of different sizes from half a dozen students up to several classes, the largest group in a workshop so far is 480! Call to discuss group size and the best way they can be accommodated and to discuss your specific requirements.
Workshops can be booked in combination, typically a school will choose two or three themes for a full day.
Space Suit Workshops
Explore why astronauts have to wear specialist clothing in space through a series of hands on experiments and
have a chance to try on a replica of of the Sokol Pressure Suit as worn by Tim Peake during his Principia Mission. This workshop covers aspects of human biology, the physics of pressure and the engineering and design of space suits, as well as a look at the history of human space flight. There are several hands on experiments for the whole group to try and some lucky students will be able to take a Space Suit selfie!
Rockets and Spacecraft Workshops
What is a rocket? How does it work? How do we keep astronauts safe on their return to earth? This explosive workshop explores the science and engineering of spacecraft from how we get rockets off the ground, how an orbit works to how astronauts aren’t burnt up on re-entry. There will be explosions, there will be rockets and there will be marshmallows and blow torches. There is also an opportunity in this workshop for students to build and test their own spacecraft and recovery systems. There is also the option of exploring water rockets, a great workshop for the summer term.
Solar System Workshops
Ever wondered what a toilet roll has to do with the Solar System? Wonder no more…. Let Paul take you through the history of the place we call home; our Solar System.
This interactive lesson with experiments and plenty of participation, uses the recent Rosetta mission to explore comets and what they tell us about the origin of the Solar System and perhaps even life itself. Students will become comet makers with a weird and wonderful shopping list of ingredients and will help explain what a roll of toilet paper has to do with the Sun and planet as well as handle actual meteorites and space rock samples.
Is there life on Mars? Workshops
This workshop explores the science of astro-biology and asks the ultimate question – Are we alone? Where might we find life? What will it look like? How would we detect it? Students will explore past current and future Mars missions and carry out experiments on simulated Martian soil samples to decide whether life there might be possible and extract DNA in order to help them decide what the word ‘life’ even means. This workshop works well paired with the Solar System of Spacecraft workshops.
The International Space Station Workshops
What is the ISS? Why and how was it built? A workshop that explores our base in space, the science that put it there, the science that keeps it there and the science that is explored there everyday. This workshop uses a range of experiments about rockets, gravity and pressure and is a great workshop to pair with the Space Suit and Spacecraft workshops above. This workshop also lends itself to a good assembly as the opening to a school wide Space Day.
Astronomy Workshops
It is possible to explore a wide range of astronomy topics and let students get hands on with telescopes. During the day this can be in the form of solar astronomy, giving the students a chance to safely view the surface of the Sun using specialist equipment. An after school group can explore the night sky with a range of different scopes. These sessions tend to work better with smaller groups.