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The telescope is a great way to learn about space. Just think about how you learnt what plants need to grow, you had a go at trying to grow plants in different conditions. Day after day you watched the plants as they attempted to grow without light. It's a great way to learn with a direct experience. The telescope allows you to learn in the same way, planning experiments, watching for changes and taking measurements, something that was previously impossible to do from the classroom. The learning doesn't end with science - using the telescope can be an extrinsic hook for many other subjects, allowing thematic learning right across the curriculum.

Here is just a tiny sample of our activities.....

Night and Day

The Earth and Beyond topic is full of abstract concepts and ICT is a great way to help pupils understand the relationships between the Earth, the Sun and the Moon.

The Moon

The Moon is one of the most interesting objects to look at in the sky and a great starting point for all astronomers. There are a wide range of activities involving the Moon to suit key stage 2 and 3 pupils aged 7 to 13.

Stories of the night sky

This activity links space into the key stage 2 history topic of the Vikings and the Sumerians and develops into a creative writing activity where pupils must come up with their own stories for the constellations.

The Maths behind the Telescope

This activity helps introduce key stage 2 and 3 pupils to Cartesian co-ordinates and understanding continuous data graphs. Videos help pupils to understand the weather graphs as they can watch the weather as it changes. Pupils can try to solve the same problem as the robot "Is it safe to take observations?".

The Solar System

The Solar System is changing and we've developed a set of activities to help you explain why Pluto isn't a planet any more.

The Big Bang

Designed for key stage 4 pupils, this activity allows them to collect their own data to support the theory of the "Big Bang". How old will your pupils find the Universe to be?

Space Book

Every pupil get their own web page. Space Book allows them to produce reports and share results with others all in a controlled environment.

Sample of telescope observations

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