Astrodome visits Danetree School

Year Five children at Danetree School already know plenty about the
world of space with classes named Sharman and Armstrong.

But their understanding of the planets and solar system took on a whole new
aspect recently with the Astrodome came to visit the school as part of their
on-going Stargazers project.

Each class got to spend an hour in the four-metre high portable planetarium,
where a combination of visual effects, models and music helped show where
over 18,000 stars are located.

In addition to studying the night sky, a visiting expert explained to
children how day and night and the seasons work, and also enlightened them
on eclipses, the planets of the solar system and their moons and satellites.

Head of Year Five Mrs Joanna Singleton said it was a fascinating experience
for the children. “Having the Astrodome visit was such a wonderful
opportunity,” she said. “Reading about things on the page or looking at them
on a flat screen is one thing, but to find yourself immersed and surrounded
by the stars and planets like this is a completely different matter. In the
best possible way, they really were lost in space!

“There are some subjects you can bring to life by going on an outing to
visit them – obviously that’s not the case when you’re studying the stars
and planets, so to bring them into the school like this was absolutely
wonderful. The feedback we’ve had from the children since the visit has been
hugely positive, so it was definitely an experience worth doing, and
something they won’t forget in a hurry.”