Ten centres were chosen by a panel to receive a grant towards hosting a stargazing event with Dark Sky Discovery partners. These centres cover the length and breadth of the country. Details of events held by each centre can be found below and the final report is available to download by clicking on the link below.
Stargazing Grants Final Report
View the Stargazing Grant Awardees on a map
Event details for each centre can be found below:
Armagh Planetarium
A Night with the Stars
Event Date: 24 April 2012
Armagh Planetarium was the place to be on Tuesday April 24 when we held a ‘Night with the Stars’. On that evening we had free digital theatre shows, arts and crafts and fascinating meteorite presentations. We were also joined by experts from the Northern Ireland Amateur Astronomy Society (NIAAS) who brought along a range of telescopes for public night sky viewing.
In our digital theatre you can relax and experience our world and beyond like never before. On our “Night with the Stars” evening we planned to screen “Experience the Aurora” twice. However, due to the demand we scheduled in an extra theatre show which totalled three fully packed shows for the evening. As the night looked cloudy we presented a 15 minute night sky segment before the theatre show, to show visitors what they should be seeing in the night sky.
Dr. Tom Mason, Director of Armagh Planetarium, held meteorite talks and visitors had the opportunity to see the new lunar meteorite that the Planetarium had acquired. These talks proved very popular, and positive comments were left on our Twitter page! Visitors were fascinated at being able to touch a real space rock and to learn more about what is out in the cosmos.
We also ran an arts and crafts workshop for any young visitors. This proved very popular as rockets and spacecrafts left the building during the course of the evening, being mindfully cared for by their creators. A “Stars in a Jar” workshop was the main attraction. This was the first time we had tried this workshop using glow in the dark paint and plastic jars. Children were able to create their night sky masterpieces and then bring them outside to see them glowing spectacularly in the dark.
The main attraction of the evening was the stargazing. Although the weather was cloudy, it did eventually clear up and we were able to see Mars, Venus and Saturn. It was amazing to see Saturn and its rings so clearly through the scopes. As well as the planets, we also got a lovely view of the crescent Moon.
It was great to see how many children had brought along their telescopes to join in with the viewing and the astronomy experts were very busy answering queries about the night sky and giving advice on the best telescopes to purchase. At many stages during the course of the night, queues formed to catch a glimpse of the ringed planet! The ever-helpful NIAAS members braved the chilly conditions, enthusing the crowd of on-lookers.
In total around 250 people came to visit us. Hopefully in the future we can develop this and carry on providing visitors with an outlet to do stargazing. Many people left commenting upon how they had never looked through a telescope before, and not only were they amazed by what they seen, but they will be purchasing one and visiting us again!
It would be great to work with our Dark Sky Discovery team again as it is clear how much people are interested in learning more about our world and beyond. The grant enabled us to make links with industry experts and allowed us to host the event free and target people who may not have known about us and the work we do. It also enabled us to try new workshops which we are implementing in the future.
At-Bristol
Urban Stargazing
Event Date: 30 April 2012
The evening saw At-Bristol and Exmoor Dark Sky Discovery run Urban Stargazing, an adults-only (ages 16+) astronomy event. Assistance, equipment and expertise were also provided by the Bristol Astronomical Society, Exmoor Stargazers, and Dr. Aude Alapini from the University of Exeter.
Organised activities included:
- Telescopes and binoculars for attendees to examine and use;
- A Telescope Clinic run by knowledgeable stargazers;
- Ask an Astronomer sessions;
- Planetarium shows;
- An exoplanet presentation;
- Hands-on activities, including meteorite handling and tasting space ice-cream;
- A fully licensed bar.
There was a great deal of interest in the local community regarding Urban Stargazing, which led to the event being a complete sell-out with 200 attendees. The weather proved to be against us on the evening but this didn’t dampen people’s enthusiasm as we simply set up the telescopes inside and used them as talking pieces. Weather-proof activities, such as comet building with dry ice, were very popular and most welcome given the rain outside. The bar also enjoyed a steady stream of visitors, many enticed by a signature drink made especially for this event: the At-Bristol supernova!
At-Bristol and Exmoor Dark Sky Discovery both found Urban Stargazing to be beneficial, in terms of reaching new audiences, communicating science, and inspiring people to take an interest in the night sky and issues of light pollution.
At-Bristol now routinely mention Exmoor National Park’s Dark Sky status in our Planetarium shows, where we contrast the quality of city skies with those that have significantly better observing conditions.
At-Bristol are planning to make Urban Stargazing evenings a regular occurrence, and are conversing with Exmoor Dark Sky Discovery, Exmoor Stargazers, and the Bristol Astronomical Society to establish longer-term partnerships as a legacy of the project.
Questionnaires were completed by visitors in order to help with evaluation. Despite the fact that no stars could be seen because of the clouds, the event had positive feedback overall. The elements of the evening were well participated in (mean 82%). Each element was rated by participants according to how enjoyable, useful or valuable they found them. See summary table below:
Visit the At-Bristol website here.
Centre for Alternative Technology
Event Date: 6 April 2012
On Friday April 6th, the Centre for Alternative Technology teamed up with Dark Sky Wales to provide an exciting stargazing event celebrating the beauty of the night sky. Beginners, amateur astronomers and professional stargazers were all invited, and the evening featured talks, telescopes, a planetarium and cake.
Dark Sky Wales had hoped to offer people opportunities for outdoor observation on the night, with an expected emphasis on lunar features, as it was the night of the full moon. In the event, complete cloud cover prevented this aspect of the evening from being realised, but Dark Sky Wales are very familiar with such problems, and had come fully prepared.
Equipped with their mobile planetarium, they were able to offer an intriguing immersive experience through which people learned about the planets, the solar system, the stars and beyond. Resembling a large black igloo, the planetarium was set up earlier in the day in the restaurant of the Wales Institute for Sustainable Education building at CAT, causing much comment and speculation among the staff. They also brought materials and expertise to allow visitors to explore the engineering challenges of making their own (small) rocket.
Despite the forecast, the event was well attended, with around 120 people of all ages, including many local families. Up to 34 people could enter the planetarium at a time, and once inside were treated to a visually beautiful, entertaining and informative film about the universe. Five groups in all went through the planetarium, and though some had to wait, it was well worth it.
Claire commented: “It was very inspiring. My father-in-law bought a telescope two years ago and I’ve been meaning to go out with him and look at the night sky. This event has given me the impetus to get on and do it."
While people waited for their turn to go into the planetarium they were treated to hot drinks and cake, as well as a highly informative lecture by Andy Burns, director of the Herschel Museum, who led us on a journey of what was possible to see using equipment ranging from the simplest (binoculars) to large and fairly sophisticated telescope. Questions from the audience included inquiries about interesting juxtapositions of stars and planets we might expect to see in the near future, and whether the speaker believed that we were likely to find intelligent life in the universe (he believes it must be there – but the chances of our making contact are slim).
Andy’s message was clear and strong: you don’t need to be an expert, or necessarily to have fancy equipment, to enjoy exploring the night sky and perhaps even make observations that contribute to scientific understanding. Just get out there and look - and you may get hooked. “I’ll definitely be out there with my binoculars on the next clear night - it’s amazing how much you can see” commented one young visitor.
Suzanne Davies brought her two children for the evening, and wrote to us afterwards:
“My children and I were lucky enough to attend your recent stargazing event. My son (16) is already a keen stargazer and he found the talks we attended fascinating and informative. My daughter (11) really enjoyed making and launching rockets, and we all thoroughly enjoyed the planetarium experience.
“As a family we have been inspired to venture outside on a couple of cold evenings since the event, lured by the promise of Mars and Venus being visible, and the expectation of a hot chocolate at the end of the night!
“Well done to all involved – please let me know when the next event will be held”
For CAT, it was an opportunity to attract local families who may or may not have come to the site before, and to give them an educational and inspiring evening within the excellent new facilities afforded by the Wales Institute for Sustainable Education. The collaboration with Dark Sky Wales worked very well and we would definitely consider running a similar event in future.
Visit the Centre for Alternative Technology website here.
Dundee Science Centre
Event Date: 12 April 2012
With kind support from ASDC and STFC, Dundee Science Centre along with several partners, took stargazing into the community, bringing fun, interesting and highly interactive stargazing experiences to the community of Douglas, in Dundee. Reaching new audiences, the evening was a highly engaging experience for all - giving many visitors the opportunity to study the stars through a telescope for the very first time.
Dundee Science Centre brought together Royal Observatory Edinburgh, Dundee Space Technology Centre, Dundee Astronomical Society and Dundee City Council Community Centres to deliver a unique experience for the community of Dundee.
The event celebrated the wonder of astronomy through a variety of activities, including hands-on craft making where visitors could create their own meteor or make a constellation viewer, exciting demonstrations that showed how comets are formed, presentations about noctilucent clouds, as well as a stargazing session that allowed visitors to take a guided tour of the stars using telescopes. Various sessions were run throughout the evening, with planetarium shows and comet-making demonstrations being run every half an hour, and craft-making activities running throughout.
Fortuitously, the weather was on our side, so visitors were able to witness Venus, be guided through the mythology behind 'The Great Bear' or catch a glimpse of the International Space Station, all under clear skies.
Emphasis was placed on engaging socially or economically deprived audiences, as it is widely recognised that these groups are less likely to visit a science centre or engage with such events. In order to reach these audiences, the event was held in a local community centre, which would not only make the event more convenient to get to, but also mean that the event would be held in a surrounding that the local community were familiar with, hopefully increasingly the likelihood that they would visit.
The evening attracted 25 visitors, mainly from the Douglas community, although some had travelled to the centre specifically for the event. Most visitors were families with young children, some of whom already had an interest in stars and the solar system. The event was also featured on the local online TV channel, 'Dundee Channel', which raised further awareness of the event and of current stargazing activities in Dundee.
Whilst this is less than the initial visitor target, it is important to note that levels of engagement were very high amongst those who visited, with most visitors staying for over an hour, trying all the activities and becoming immersed in the experience. This smaller number of visitors also allowed participants to spend more time with professionals, asking questions about their specific area of interest without feeling rushed. Enthusiasm was also high amongst visitors, with many visitors (both children and adults) excited about the activities on offer and the prospect of having professionals guide them around the sky at night. In addition, one young visitor felt so inspired by the evening that she took extra constellation viewers away with her, so she could share what she had learnt with her youth group, which is run regularly at the community centre. Feedback from all partners was very positive, with many mentioning that they had enjoyed speaking to and engaging with new audiences, especially with those who had never visited an observatory or a science centre before. It was recognised by all partners that public engagement activities are new to this community, and partners very much enjoyed the opportunity to bring new and interesting experiences to them.
Delivering public engagement activities was a particularly interesting and a new experience for Dundee Astronomical Society, as often they speak only to those already interested in and knowledgeable about the subject. One partner remarked that it was refreshing to speak to those who had no knowledge of the subject, or had never had the opportunity to use a telescope.
We hope to build on the success of this event by disseminating the format of this event to other Dundee City Council Community centres, working in partnership with the Dundee City Cultural and Community Partnership, so we can offer this experience to other areas of Dundee. We also hope to work with our Dark Sky Discovery partner on various upcoming space-themed activities for schools and public, further developing the relationship we have established through this project.
Dundee Science Centre very much enjoyed the opportunity to work collaboratively with a number of partners to bring a unique, inspiring and enjoyable event to new audiences. By hosting this event in an area such as Douglas, we feel that we have whet their appetite for science learning events in the future and that we can return to host similar events in the future.
Visit Dundee Science Centres website here.
Intech Science Centre and Planetarium
Event Date: 24 March 2012
We were blessed with beautiful clear skies for our 9th Stargazing Night, which was a huge success. The grant allowed us to make the night more inclusive and appropriate for beginners, bringing in many more people than had attended previous events.
A large part of the grant was used to invest in a set of binoculars. In addition we bought a powerful laser pointer, booked professional presenters for the first time, and bought stairway lighting to provide safe access to a large, dark outside space for stargazing.
Although the event didn't officially start until 7pm, people started arriving at 4:30pm. We already had 178 visitors in the venue by 7pm and had to open the tills early! In total 443 visitors attended; a huge increase from our previous best of 250 attendees. Many were new to stargazing, and (of those surveyed) half had never been to INTECH before. And all had great smiles on their faces.
Feedback (by email): "Thank you so much for a wonderful evening of stargazing! It was truly spectacular. Everyone was so friendly and willing to share information and advice. Seeing the bands of Jupiter and three of the moons, as well as the rings of Saturn and Titan has been a long-term wish of mine, so thank you very much for giving me the opportunity to see them with my own eyes. Needless to say, I am now saving for my very own telescope!"
Our core activity was free, naked-eye stargazing. Three 30min sessions were led by presenters from the Explorer Dome planetarium, using PA and 100mW laser pointer. Ben Brown & Shaaron Leverment gave a very down-to-earth and engaging tour of the night sky, appropriate for all ages.
Our free talks 30min astronomy "Aliens in the Universe" (Sadie Jones, Southampton University) and "Apollo at 40" (Jeff Geary, Andover Astronomical Society) ran three times each in side rooms. Early talks were booked out very quickly, with a total 183 tickets distributed. Some visitors even sneaked into the back of sold-out talks so they didn't miss out!
Visitors could borrow binoculars (with astronomy expert Ninian Boyle to help) and use telescopes, brought in by six regional Astronomy Societies. The telescopes were in two locations, giving a wide range of target objects. Telescopes at the main entrance gave a festive feel to arriving visitors.
Astronomy Societies also brought display stands and we ran a free make-a-planisphere activity, giving a nice balance to an evening which was largely about looking and listening. Visitors also took home copies of our INTECH monthly beginners' stargazing guide.
Finally, to cover building and staffing costs, we ran three planetarium film shows, "Cosmic Journey" (twice) and "We are Astronomers". We sold 206 tickets at our standard rate.
We were lucky to have clear skies on the night, but had it been cloudy we would have set up the telescopes and binoculars indoors to observe tiny planets hung high in the roof and run live star-spotting shows in the planetarium and added another free talk to the programme.
Our new binoculars can be now used at other evening events (e.g. Adults Only, Cubs & Brownies), on dark winter afternoons and even for summer nature walks. We've also offered to lend these to regional Astronomy Societies running public events as a thank-you for their continued support.
Having invested in this equipment, we can now repeat this new form of Stargazing Night without additional funding. Thanks to ASDC/STFC for making all this possible!
Visit Intech's website here.
Museum of Science and Industry, Manchester
Stargazing in the City
Event Date: 22 May 2012
The Museum of Science & Industry (MOSI) joined forces with its local Dark Sky Discovery partner Manchester Astronomical Society (MAS) to host ‘Stargazing in the City’ – an evening event that introduced 30 local teenagers to the wonders of the night sky in a fun, quirky and participatory way. Highlights included a new planetarium show, a guide to virtual stargazing, a quiz show, and some real gazing with the experts. The event received great feedback and more collaborations are hoped for in the future, particularly during the stargazing season (Oct—Mar) when evenings get darker much earlier!
Background
MOSI wanted to create an event for teenagers, an age group that had not been catered for at previous astronomy events such as family-friendly astronomy days (aimed at MOSI’s core family audience) and adult evening events. MAS members were keen to be involved as it would provide an opportunity to promote astronomy to a new audience, gain public engagement experience and raise awareness of the Society.
Based at the historic Godlee Observatory in the centre of Manchester, MAS encourages the study of astronomy for both newcomers and existing enthusiasts. MOSI is situated just across the city centre and houses a planetarium, accessible venue space for events and has a strong team of public engagement professionals skilled in bringing science topics to life for visitors.
By combining MOSI’s venue and public engagement skills with the astronomy expertise of MAS “Stargazing in the City” was developed.
The event
The event took place on Tuesday 22nd May 2012 from 7pm – 9pm at MOSI. It was marketed on the MOSI website, through social network sites and on posters around site. The event was advertised for the 14-19 age group but proved most popular with the under 16 age bracket. All available places were booked with 30 teenagers and accompanying adults attending. Four members of MOSI staff ran the event alongside four MAS members.
Activities
Solar Telescope
As it was a beautiful sunny evening, MAS started off by setting up a solar telescope outside MOSI for people to safely observe the sun, identify and learn about solar spots and meet the MAS members. This was a great ice-brea that got people talking and set the tone for an informal, fun evening.
Planetarium show
Two of MOSI’s presenters, Shea and Jamie, wrote and performed a new planetarium show to a full house. The audience learnt about the Manchester night sky, why urban light pollution affects stargazing, examples of different constellations that can be seen and how astronomy allows a look back into the past. Supported by a contemporary soundtrack, cultural references and a specially produced video and talk that gave you “everything you need to know about our solar system in two minutes.” the show was really well received.
Celebrity Beetlejuice Quiz
Inspired by the star Betelgeuse, which was introduced in the Planetarium show, the MOSI presenters delivered a TV-style quiz show called ‘Celebrity Beetlejuice’ in the MOSI cafe. Volunteers formed two teams who competed in rounds such as ‘Play your stars right’ (where teams had to guess whether a named star was “nearer” or “closer” to Earth than the previous one), ‘Seeing Stars’ (Where contestants spun a wheel to select a challenge activity) and a quick fire question round. Conferring was positively encouraged with MAS members and the audience giving their vocal opinions! The winning team were awarded prizes of mini telescopes and books.
Virtual Stargazing
After everyone had enjoyed some refreshments MAS gave a short introduction to the Society, enthusiastically spoke about how easy it is to get involved with astronomy in Manchester and showed some examples of amazing astronomical photographs captured by their members. Then everyone was encouraged to get their smartphones out as MAS demonstrated how you can stargaze using internet applications such as Stellarium and view live telescope footage online.
Talk & Telescopes
MAS brought along some of their own telescopes which they set up outside MOSI. People had the chance to examine and look through the telescopes while informally chatting to the MAS members as the sky got darker. There was a lot of interest in the equipment and many people asked whether they could visit the Godlee Observatory in the future.
Feedback
We received some great feedback from the teenagers who attended the event. Comments included:
- “I liked that we got to see a load of cool stars and the difference between the city and the country side”
- “Nothing to improve on! I can keep the knowledge with me for my physics exam next week! Jamie and Shea were very enthusiastic and made me want to learn more. Thanks for a great evening!”
- “I enjoyed the planetarium. It was awesome. I would definitely come again.”
MAS members were really pleased to have engaged a new audience and said they had learnt a lot from MOSI’s public engagement techniques and professional experience. MOSI benefited greatly from the expert knowledge and enthusiasm brought by MAS which was an integral part of the event.
Future
After this successful event, MOSI and MAS have formed a relationship that will hopefully lead to more collaborations in the future. Potential ideas include working together again during stargazing season (Oct-Mar) to shape and promote Sidewalk Stargazing events in the city-centre, and to cross promote each other’s events.
Visit MOSI's website here.
National Museums Liverpool
Event Date: 23 March 2012
The event on March 23rd, funded by ASDC was the fourth Stargazing event run by National Museums Liverpool; our previous three events were held in World Museum, our venue in the city centre and home to the planetarium and physical sciences collections.
For this event we decided to move to one of our other venues Sudley House, removed from the city centre with hopefully better viewing conditions.
The event was promoted on our website and via social networking, it was also featured in the Liverpool Echo and on local BBC radio, in addition it was promoted after planetarium shows in the week leading up to it and also on posters around both venues.
It was free (like our previous events) and aimed at the local community, families with young children were welcome and we also targeted some local community groups working with people with physical and mental health disabilities, although uptake from these groups was low. In total we had around 230 people attend the event, roughly a quarter of which were children, and it was by far the most successful stargazing event we have run.
We had a selection of telescopes available to use of varying quality, including a cardboard and MDF Dobsonian built by the planetarium team(!) and some binoculars, plus we did impromptu naked eye observing with small groups of visitors. There were queues at the telescopes most of the night as people were eager to catch a glimpse of Jupiter, Venus and Mars. The tea rooms in the house were also open offering snacks and hot drinks to eat inside or bring back outside.
The main benefit of hosting the event at Sudley House was the improved viewing conditions; we explored the possibility of poor weather activities, including bringing a mobile dome in to run planetarium shows; however none of the rooms in the House were big enough for it, so we decided on a high risk strategy of planning an entirely outdoor event!
The weather was not poor, but we did suffer from some haze which made our planned viewing of deep sky objects impossible, however the planets were easy to spot and the naked eye astronomy was very popular as the brightest stars and constellations were visible. Many people took home sky charts and information about buying telescopes and a good number brought their own books and planispheres with them to identify the constellations.
We had great feedback from the visitors, they all wanted to know when we would be holding another event and the staff enjoyed themselves too! The event was planned to run from 6.30 – 8pm but people were arriving at the venue from about 6pm and we finally managed to persuade the last few visitors to leave by dismantling the telescopes at 8.30!
We spent a good chunk of the grant money on a new telescope to enhance our limited collection, with GoTo technology and a CCD camera to enable us to relay the images to a screen for a wider number of people to observe and also to improve access for wheelchair users and others who find using a telescope difficult. We also invested in a powerful laser pointer to make naked eye observing sessions easier to follow. These purchases will greatly enhance any future events we run.
Our high risk strategy did not end in disaster, though because of the haze the viewing conditions were not substantially better than at World Museum, we need to look more closely at how we can provide a wet weather contingency plan for using this venue. For our events at World Museum we have the planetarium and space gallery at our disposal, and also provide gallery trails and craft activities in case of bad weather, though our city centre location means viewing conditions are not great.
We had hoped to take some photos of all the visitors enjoying the event, however the staff were all so busy and having such a good time themselves that we forgot to get the camera out!
We had been considering running an event at Sudley House for a while, the ASDC grant gave us the push to make it a reality and also enabled us to buy some equipment that’s been on the ‘wish list’ for a while now, we hope to continue events at both venues building on what we learned this time round, and making the best use of our now improved equipment, so thanks ASDC!
Visit National Museums Liverpool's website here.
Science Oxford
Event Date: 16 March 2012
Introduction
Stargazing at Science Oxford Live started its life in Autumn 2011 as a collaboration between Science Oxford Live (SO) and The British Science Association (BSA) Oxfordshire Branch.
Once ASDC/STFC funding became available in early 2012, Stargazing at Science Oxford Live grew considerably. SO applied for the park immediately adjacent to the centre (South Park) to become the region's first Dark Sky Discovery site. Other partners also became involved, namely Oxfordshire Science Festival, Abingdon Astronomical Society (AAS), Oxford University Astronomy Group, Bradford Robotic Telescope, and Oxford University Astrophysics Department.
The event was publicised as being suitable for 13 years old and over. It was marketed via the SO, Oxfordshire Science Festival and BSA mailing lists, websites and printed material. Press releases were also sent out about South Park's designation as a Dark Sky Discovery site, which were picked up by local radio. Bookings were managed via SO's online and phone booking system.
With a few days to go, the event had sold out, with 85 bookings. Of these, 7 were Science Oxford members and got in for free, and 78 paid (£5 per head, or a group ticket at £16 for up to 5 people).
What was planned
The event had both cloudy weather and clear weather alternatives. We obviously hoped for clear weather, in which case Scott Marley from Bradford Robotic telescope would give a short introduction to stargazing, finishing by 7pm. At that point we would take everyone over to South Park, where we would have 8 telescopes (of varying quality) operated by volunteers from the different partner organisations. These would be looking at the different celestial objects visible that night, which gave a rare oppoortuinity to see Mars, Venus Jupiter and Saturn all on the same evening.
In the case of cloudy weather we would have an extended talk by Scott, followed by an "astronomy fair" in the "Discovery Zone" on the ground floor of Science Oxford Live. This would have stands from the different partner organisations, and some hands on interactive activities.
In either case, it was planned that each participant would get a bag containing activities to do when they got home. In particular, this included some sheets introducing people to Celestia and Stellarium (two pieces of free downloadable "virtual planetarium" software). These were produced by the local BSA branch. They also received a copy of the Exscitec cut out cardboard planisphere, which were bought by SO. In addition, the bags included a variety of publicity materials for the partner organisations.?
What actually happened
It became apparent with a few days to go that it was very unlikely that we were going to have clear skies on that evening. We therefore ramped up our Cloudy Weather Plan, asking some of our partners to also give brief presentations as part of the "formal" part of the event. As a result, we eventually had presentations from Scott Marley which included an introduction to Celestia, Stellarium, and planispheres (around 45 minutes); Phil Marshall from Oxford University Astrophysics Dept talked about the Zooniverse "citizen science" project (www.zooniverse.org, 10 minutes); and Michaela Livingstone from ASDC talked about Dark Sky Discovery (10 minutes).
Once the Cloudy Weather Plan became the most likely, we also spoke to our partner organisations about providing more hands on activities. The two local astronomy groups set up some of their telescopes inside the building; AAS showed some of their members' photographs; we borrowed a "Magic Planet" from Rutherford Appleton Laboratory (RAL); and Phil Marshall showed some of the activities available on Zooniverse.
These changes meant that we felt that we had given people value for money as far as the event was concerned, even though the main activity was closed off to us by the weather.
Of the 85 people who booked, 69 showed up. In addition, 11 people showed up without booking and so we were able to accommodate them. Although there were a few children under the age of 13, there were fewer than we would normally expect, and the majority of participants were within the target age range.
As a result of the last minute changes we made, the event started a little later than planned at around 6.45pm. The formal section ran until around 8pm, and people then moved into the DZ for the Astronomy Fair. People started to drift off in small numbers from the point where we moved into the DZ, but there were still 10-15 people taking part in activities at 9pm (the scheduled finish time).
There was an excellent level of engagement throughout, and informal feedback was uniformly good, with people staying beyond 9pm (the scheduled finish time).
Learning points
The event was a collaboration between organisations involved in astronomy and PEST in the county, not all of whom had worked together previously. For instance, this was the first time that SO had worked with the BSA branch, and it was the first time that either SO or the BSA branch had worked with AAS. The event also meant that SO was able to broker a deal for Oxford University Astrophysics Dept to borrow RAL's Magic Planet for an astronomy event they were running a fortnight later.
These partnerships have proved very valuable. SO and the BSA branch are collaborating on another event (on microscopy) in Autumn 2012, and there is a strong possibility that we will run another Stargazing event in Spring 2013 (hopefully with better weather this time).
Visit Science Oxford's website here.
Techniquest Glyndŵr
Event date: 12 April 2012
Location/Venue: Alyn Waters Country Park and Royal British Legion, Llay, Wrexham.
Cost: Free
Activities:
- Immersive 360° planetarium dome shows
- Astronomy talk from Richard Sargent, Chester Astronomical Society
- Children's crafts - make-your-own planispheres & word searches
- Guided star walks with live naked-eye, binocular and telescope stargazing.
Narrative:
On the evening of April 12th, Techniquest Glyndŵr (TQG) held a community stargazing event in the tranquil and beautiful setting of Alyn Waters Country Park in Llay, Wrexham.
The evening began at 6pm, whilst skies were still bright blue, with indoor activities held at the neighbouring Royal British Legion Centre. All visitors were given a Dark Sky Discovery Stargazing Guide upon arrival. Youngsters enjoyed the chance to make their own planispheres and origami stars to take away and complete word searches and other puzzles. Following on from the craft activities there was a fascinating family-friendly astronomy talk from local astronomer Richard Sargent from the Chester Astronomical Society. The session provided attendees with a great introduction to astronomy and highlighted the importance of dark sky awareness.
At the same time in the main hall, groups of budding stargazers were being entertained with 25 minute shows in Techniquest Glyndŵr's two inflatable planetarium domes. There were beginner and intermediate shows taking place simultaneously. Nearly 200 people enjoyed one of seven planetarium shows.
As dusk arrived members of TQG's presenter team led groups out into the country park on a short walk to where telescopes and trained staff were waiting. The fantastically clear sky was perfect for stargazing and conditions in the park away from the street lights were ideal. Techniquest Glyndŵr telescopes and binoculars were joined by a plethora of others brought along by members of the general public, scout groups and local enthusiasts. The stargazing continued into the night with the last few packing away their kit at 11pm.
The total number of attendees on the night was in excess of 200 as approximately 195 people took part in the indoor activities and several others joined the event directly at the stargazing.
The event also attracted a local group of geocachers who decided to combine their geocaching with some stargazing and the opportunity to test astronomers' knowledge on satellites.
Feedback on the night was overwhelmingly positive with several residents from the village of Llay expressing their gratitude to TQG staff for holding an event in their locale. The following is an extract from an email received shortly after the event:
"I just thought I should write to thank you for the excellent and very enjoyable evening we had at Llay British Legion and Alyn Waters last night. My 6 year old son has just recently started to take an interest in the planets (thanks to my iphone App of all things) and it was lovely to see him transfixed as he watched the display in the dome and then the slides in the talk afterwards. Then the planets through the telescope rounded it off nicely for him.
"If you are ever likely to do something similar again we'd definitely come back and spread the word to our friends. Only other thing was that whilst you probably had reasons for not charging, we'd gladly have thrown some money into a donations bucket to make a contribution."
This is just one of many examples of feedback received during and following the event and highlights how the evening's activities complemented each other perfectly.
Techniquest Glyndŵr would like to take this opportunity to thank the UK Association for Science and Discovery Centres and the Science and Technology Facilities Council for their support and would also like to acknowledge the contribution of Dark Sky Discovery.
Visit Techniquest Glyndŵr's website here.
Woolsthorpe Manor
Seeing Stars
Event Date: 27 April 2012
Woolsthorpe Manor held it’s first ever Star Gazing event on the evening of 27th April 2012. The event was aimed at Key Stage 2 children and their families. We marketed with book bag flyers, mention in school assemblies and through parent mail (emails to parents). Local Scouts and Brownies were invited by phone through the local scout leaders.
The event took place between 7.30pm and 9.30pm on two sites, Woolsthorpe itself and the local village hall which is a five minute walk away from the manor. Cars parked at the manor and guides in high visibility jackets directed people to Woolsthorpe Manor’s Science Discovery Centre where they were told about the evenings activities and booked onto the planetarium show.
StarLincs set up the mobile planetarium in the village hall where they held four performances.
We had planned to position our 6 local amateur astronomers in two different locations; in the north orchard at the manor and on the playing fields at the village hall. The weather however, was not kind and we had rain. The astronomers, undeterred, set up their telescopes inside the Science Discovery Barn at the manor and inside the village hall. They also brought some information panels for visitors to read.
96 people took part in the event, families, brownies and scouts. They all visited the planetarium and the vast majority listened to the talk and chatted to the astronomers. The children made mobile planetariums, star tubes and paper rockets that they launched from an air powered launcher (this was a huge hit!). The Star Charts were given out to everyone who visited, but there was not a star to be seen!
We would love with Dark Sky Discovery again. The next star gazing evening will aimed at an adult audience.
StarLincs, the amateur astronomers and Julian Onions have all expressed an interest in helping us to run another event and Julian has talks prepared on the big bang theory and dark matter. So watch this space…..
Thanks to everyone who helped to make this event a success.
Visit Woolsthorpe Manor's website here.
