Further Information for SchoolsIntroduction Astronomy, the oldest of all the sciences, is a key feature in the National Curriculum from the earliest years right through to GCSE and beyond into A-level. Alas, it can be frustratingly difficult to teach as many of the concepts are too abstract to properly bring to life in the classroom. A planetarium offers the chance to let children experience the awe and wonder of space whilst helping them to grasp difficult concepts. Of course, there are fixed planetaria in various parts of the UK but the cost and expense involved in taking classes to visit them are huge (e.g. typically ~£4.50 per pupil entrance fee plus transport costs etc. = £500+ for a coach of 50 pupils!). Space Odyssey offers the ideal solution: the 'school trip' comes to YOU! Simon will bring one of Space Odyssey's state-of-the-art domes, planetarium projector and multimedia equipment and set it all up within your school (typically in a sports-hall, gym or assembly-hall) in barely an hour. One or two classes at a time can then be brought to the hall and, together with their teacher(s), they are then introduced to and led into the dome for the experience of a lifetime! All this at a fraction of the cost and inconvenience of a 'traditional' school trip (the cost of a visit by the Space Odyssey planetarium typically works out at between just £1.60 and £2.80 per student!)
Please either read through the following information or select from this list: Shows for schools are firmly rooted in requirements of the Science National Curriculum / Common Entrance Science / exam board syllabuses (as appropriate) and are carefully enhanced to engender that sense of awe and wonder that astronomy should bring. Each show is specifically targeted for the age group of the students. Show lengths will be tailored to suit your needs (e.g. for fitting within the length of a single lesson) and typically range from 30-60 minutes [remember to consider the time needed to bring pupils to the hall and take them back to classrooms afterwards. We can discuss the practicalities in detail to ensure the minimum of disruption and to maximise the learning experience for your students] Naturally, the content of each dome experience depends on the amount of time available for each group. Topics that can be covered include: Key Stage 1: difference between dark and light, stars as light sources compared with planets/moons reflecting light, shape and comparitive sizes of Sun, Earth, Moon and planets, shadows, cause of day and night, what a year is, legends behind the constellations, the Milky Way, Q&A Key Stage 2: as above, plus eclipses and the phases of the Moon, the reason for the seasons, the Sun's path across the sky and the effect on shadows, exploration of the planets, the solar system within the Galaxy, Q&A Key Stage 3: as above plus changes in the path of the Sun across the sky, weight compared to mass, "weightlessness", artificial satellites and their orbits, comets, space probes, Q&A GCSE: how stars and planets form, the life-cycles of different kinds of star, gravity as a force, weight compared to mass, orbits, comets and asteroids, further details of the Solar System, artificial satellites, their orbits and their uses, searching for life beyond the Earth, Q&A A-level: stellar formation and the life-cycles of stars, the Hertzprung-Russell diagram, Cepheid Variables and Type I supernovae as 'standard candles', distance-measuring using parallax, nuclear fusion inside stars and element genesis (including the iron limit etc.), spectroscopy, red-shifting and the expansion of the Universe, quasars and super-massive black holes etc., Q&A Please note that it is not usually possible to cover all topics listed during the course of a single show, simply due to time constraints. Therefore, if you wish a particular area to definitely be included during the presentation, please let us know. For instance, in a Key Stage 3 presentation, you may wish for the reasons for the seasons to be covered at the expense of exploring the nature of satellite orbits.
Space Odyssey's inspirational planetarium experiences are now available in either of two different sizes of inflatable dome (for photographs and further details, please see the Domes section of the website). Your choice of dome will primarily be determined by the size of your chosen venue. In any secondary and most independent schools, there will invariably be at least one hall or gym large enough to accommodate the Voyager dome. Most primary schools will also have a suitably large school hall for this larger dome. However, smaller primary schools may not be able to accommodate the Voyager dome. In such cases, the smaller Pioneer dome will almost certainly fit into either your own hall or in a nearby community/village hall. It is very important that you measure the dimensions of the hall in question to make absolutely sure that one of the domes will fit! If you're in any doubt at all, please contact us to discuss the circumstances of your chosen venue as it may be possible to fit the domes in between beams/light fittings or into a slightly narrow hall if certain precautions are taken. It is, however, essential in such cases that Simon knows about this in advance as this will affect the time required to set up! Details of the hall size requirements are given on the Domes pages. The number of children who can be accommodated in either dome does, of course, depend on the age of the students. Please note the following maximum capacities: Voyager dome
Pioneer dome
Prices for school shows depend on the number of people involved, in other words whether there are two classes in the dome at the same time or just one. There are pros and cons for each alternative and these are discussed below. Two classes per show Pros:
Cons:
One class per show Pros:
Cons:
Please note that all chairs, be they for students or teachers, need to be supplied by the school itself. Ideally, these should be arranged to be brought to the hall before Simon arrives to minimise inconvenience on the day. Similarly, please arrange for any gym mats to be brought to the hall in advance. Using gym mats makes for a shorter set-up time and is strongly encouraged over the use of chairs!
When working out the timings for the day's planetarium sessions, please include time for Simon to set up and pack away all the necessary equipment! Please allow a minimum of one hour between Simon beginning to unload the van to the start of the first session. It is important to allow extra time if access is anything other than straightforward (e.g. through corridors or up flights of stairs). Once the equipment has been brought from the van to the hall, it takes half an hour to set up the dome and equipment ready for the first show and even less to pack it away afterwards. Please allow at least half an hour for the equipment to be brought from the van to the hall in the first place and a further half an hour for it to be returned to the van after it has been packed away. As some items of equipment are quite heavy and are on wheels, easy ramped access is highly desirable from as close as possible to the hall (ideally from immediately outside the fire exit, for example). If stairs or steps are involved, five minutes' worth of assistance will be required from someone to get a few items of equipment to the hall (just to help lift things up steps - the rest of the time the kit can be wheeled along).
If the hall is needed during lunchtime, please allow a minimum of twenty minutes after the end of the last morning presentation for the dome and equipment to be disassembled and moved to the corner of the hall or into a nearby classroom. About forty minutes are then needed after the hall has been cleaned and cleared before the next show can begin. Please arrange for the floor of the hall to be given a particularly thorough clean after lunch as we need to keep the dome spotlessly clean! As time
is lost by taking the dome down and re-inflating it after lunch, if at
all possible it is always worthwhile making alternative lunch arrangements
for the day of the shows so as to maximise the time available for presentations. |