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School science visits

At Sherwood Observatory our mission is to encourage more young people to take an interest in STEM subjects, to raise educational attainment and engagement.

Our schools programme is central to that vision. We support your school science curriculum with visits and activities tailored to your needs.

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School science is fun!

Experience our inspiring Planetarium show to learn all about our solar system, galaxy and beyond from our enthusiastic and knowledgeable society members and staff.

Our visits are tailored to support your current curriculum topics around earth, space and science. Let us know if you have a particular subject or theme in mind, and we will adapt our talk to the theme and age of your group.

We can host either half day or full day visits.

What’s involved in a school visit?

  • 20-30 minute planetarium show and presentation by our expert team (two if a full day visit)
  • Tour of our observatory to understand how our telescope works
  • Viewing opportunity. Note that we cannot use our main telescope for viewing during daylight hours, but weather permitting, we can set up smaller telescopes that are suitable for safe solar observing
  • Science activity sessions led by our experienced team
  • View our exhibition in our underground Victorian reservoir to learn more about human space flight and the history of the reservoir

Supporting your science curriculum

We aim to increase learner’s knowledge and understanding through informative and entertaining content delivery, paired with practical workshop activities. Your visit will encourage teamwork and the application of scientific concepts, which should inspire and enthuse every age group.

Our engaging programme of workshops and activities has been designed to reflect STEM themes and topics which are linked to the curriculum.

Inspiring creative thinking

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Our activities are carefully planned to engage your group with fun tasks to bring science and space to life. We adapt each activity to the age group and curriculum you are covering. Example activities include:

Build a Comet – For older pupils we focus in on the scientific themes of space and exploration, such as making a comet with dry ice.

Build a Space Rover Robot – What would a rover need to explore another planet? We challenge you to build your own vehicle using craft materials, thinking through its construction and use in space or you can drive our Mars rover.

Investigating Infrared Cameras – We explain how this works on Earth and in space and how they provide information that cannot be obtained at optical wavelengths, and invite children to have a go at using the camera, from looking at each other to different materials and temperatures to see how they appear in Infrared light.

Explore our solar system – For younger pupils, we enjoy making replica planets out of clay, and measure out the distance between planets using the children themselves.

These activities are just a sample of the many we have planned to make your school science visit both educational and memorable. We will liaise with you during the booking process to discover what you would like the learning outcomes to be, and select an activity that reflects that.

Dates and prices

School visits are held Monday to Friday as either half-day or full-day sessions. Charges are £180 for state-funded and SEND schools and £210 for fee-paying schools. This is for up to 30 pupils and equates to £6 or £7 per pupil. Extra adults in addition to the teaching and support staff are chargeable.

We require a non-returnable deposit of £50 at the time of booking, plus payment in full 14 days before your visit date. Please state your day and time preferences on the booking form below.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Planning your visit

Planning your visit

Deposits are non-refundable should you need to cancel your visit. We are happy to accommodate changes to the date of your visit where possible without loss of deposit, but this cannot be guaranteed.

Our team offers risk assessment advice, and we will send you further details closer to the date of your visit.

We can offer a range of activity worksheets for groups to complete. Please let us know if you are interested in more details.

Depending on the specific date of your visit, there may be general admission visitors on-site simultaneously. Please bear this in mind when planning your trip.

Parking is available on-site for minibuses and coaches. Please let us know if you require accessible parking spaces or EV charging for your vehicle.

Group Size

The capacity in our planetarium is 59 visitors, including accompanying adults, at any one time. For larger groups, we will rotate separate activity sessions, planetarium shows, and observatory visits to ensure that everyone gets a chance to participate.

What to bring

Please bring your own packed lunch and/or snacks as our café may not be available during your visit.

Remember to wrap up warm, as it can be cold outside and in the observatory.

Science and Astronomy pocket money toys and gifts will be available at the end of your visit.

Accessibility

We want everyone to enjoy our facility, but please be aware that using the main telescope involves climbing some steps.

If that’s not an option for some of your group members, don’t worry – we have smaller scopes outside that can also show you amazing sights.

Essential carers for children with additional needs are admitted free of charge and are included in the adult-to-child ratios above.

Please let us know if you have any special needs or worries, and we will do our best to help you.

If you have any questions, please email us at [email protected].