As part of Science Week, 100 of our Year 7s headed to the National Space Centre in Leicester with the Science Department for an amazing experience.
Mrs Simms, who organised the trip, gives her take on the day.
The annual National Space Centre trip to Leicester was exciting from the start, being able to take double the number of pupils than previous years meant being surrounded by double the excitement and expectations.
As always, the entrance to the Space Centre is awesome, being able to see a Soyuz Capsule and different space suits used on different missions. Pupils were able to explore by themselves and most made it straight to the towers to see Thor Rocket and a piece of the actual moon. Some pupils were engrossed in a launch simulator, being able to communicate with their astronauts successfully for lift off, taking it in turns to be part of ground control or in the capsule.
There was a new large and impressive exhibit which helped to highlight the challenges faced on our planet Earth, an interactive screen which shows the changing environments and loss of habitats while the planet heats. Pupils loved stepping on the interactive floor making ripples and other patterns on the floor.
As always, the planetarium was an awesome experience, where pupils were made to feel like they were in space or on a centrifuge. They also learnt how dangerous travel to space can be with the help of Chad the astronaut. I think pupils this year appreciated the ability to learn more about the Space topic we have been studying in school in a completely interactive way, bringing to life the space race, how our knowledge has been gained and the different facts about our Solar System.
This year I spent some more time in our Solar System exhibit, learning different facts about planets. I was particularly taken aback by the vastness of some other moons. Io, a moon of Jupiter, has a Volcano called Pele, which is so large that when it erupts it covers an area equivalent to France. It is so unimaginable and is awe inspiring, there are very few people on the planet who can appreciate how small Earth is in comparison to the vastness of the universe, and those that do have seen Earth with their own eyes and been brave putting themselves in danger to explore a very inhospitable environment.
Colette said of the trip, ‘The space trip was out of this world! My favourite part was the rocket tower, although there were so many stairs! Whilst we were there, we explored the museum and saw what happens to the human body in space. The museum was super fun and interactive. Me and my friend tried to create a successful space launch but I think it may have been a one-way mission! This was a fantastic trip and I would definitely recommend it (the only thing I would not recommend would be walking up the stairs to the rocket tower 4 times!)’
