Sherwood Observatory Planetarium & Science Centre, Sutton in Ashfield may have only launched in November 2024, but it has certainly come a long way since opening.
The Planetarium & Science Centre, which is a huge hit with Astronomy and Space enthusiasts has developed a growing reputation across the county of Nottinghamshire and the East Midlands, with visitor numbers now near 28,000.

The volunteer led charity champions STEM and acts as a valuable resource for education, enabling the development of knowledge, skills and confidence of young people and adults. The centre regularly welcomes schools, local groups, Home Education and individuals with disabilities and/or additional needs. The charity is also continuously working with like-minded organisations on visionary projects and to bring future events to the area.

September has brought yet another achievement with the centre announced as a finalist for the ‘Accessible and Inclusive Tourism Award’ in 2026’s Nottinghamshire Tourism Awards.
This is an incredibly special recognition, as the volunteers and team behind the build believed passionately in providing a centre which could be enjoyed and would benefit all.

Throughout the planning process, accessibility was a key focus and alongside partners from AnotherKind Architects, G F Tomlinson and HSP Consulting. The charity ensured the centre was designed to be an easy access venue with the installation of high quality lift, disabled toilets on two floors and a changing places room. The volunteer-run cafe has been created to be spacious and visitors can also watch planetarium shows in their wheel chairs.

These industry awards are highly recognised across the Tourism sector of the county of Nottinghamshire and winners of each category are also included in the final Visit England Awards.

Centre Manager, Tony Booth says ‘As an organisation that champions space, science and engineering, we want to inspire and educate as many people as we can to get involved in this sector either as an interest or future profession and this should be accessible to everyone. It means the world to us to be recognised in this way, knowing that we are doing things that make a real difference and enrich people’s lives’.

The centre is now heading to what will most likely be their busiest time of the year with October Half Term, Open Evenings, Courses, New Planetarium Shows and other special events now upon the horizon.

All details and tickets for visits and events are available here