There is nothing more enchanting than the night sky. Give your students the rare opportunity to take a break from their busy schedules and studies to stare off into space - literally! In this fun-packed session, your students will learn about patterns in the night sky and how to star hop to some treasures up above. They will also be able to try their hand at stargazing and use a telescope to look at distant space objects more clearly. Paired with a mug of hot chocolate, the stars never disappoint!
This workshop works well as a winter special for students, or can be done in conjunction with a school camp out. We always hope that the clouds stay away so we can see the stars, however sometimes they creep in. We have a clear sky plan and a cloudy plan for the session, so rest assured that your students will be happy and entertained even if they don’t see real stars.
The workshop begins with an interactive quiz for students to participate in. Then, one of our charismatic presenters will engage the students in a presentation about the night sky and what they can see that evening, going into detail about nebulae, star clusters and constellations.
The middle of the workshop is a brilliant time to relax with a hot chocolate. Some schools just have hot chocolate, but others have marshmallows and cupcakes too!
If the sky is clear enough, we head outside with the telescope to see what we can see. The presenter will show the students some highlights of the night sky with a laser pointer (this seems to be the highlight for many children) and they will each have a turn with the telescope.
If we are unfortunate and the clouds have rolled in, the children will be given a tour of the sky using the app Stellarium. This works very well if the students each have it downloaded on their devices. Honestly, some are even more taken with the app than the real night sky! If you have a long enough corridor, we can even use the telescope inside to spot objects around the school; our toy dinosaur is often hidden for the students to find in the telescope crosshairs.
There is a bit of time where students may be waiting to use the telescope so we provide a bank of custom-made worksheets on the QR code for the students to do while they are waiting. You get access to the resources as soon as the workshop is booked and paid for so you can print them ahead of time if that suits your students better.
The QR code (or URL) we provide with the resources can be passed on to your students for them to access the resources at home. Prizes will be given out during the workshop to activity winners. We often give out Legami Astronaut pens and copies of ‘Astrophysics for Supervillains’ by Dr Matt Bothwell. We aim for this to be a memorable experience for your students and yourselves as teachers.
To deliver this workshop, we require a screen to project on, that students have access to the internet on their devices, space for students to complete worksheets and a place outside that we can stargaze. We do not provide hot chocolate. Due to the complex dietary requirements of some students, we leave this to the school to provide. You do not have to provide hot chocolate to do the workshop, however it is strongly recommended! Students and teachers should be reminded to wrap up warmly for this experience.
I attended a Mission Astro Hot Choc Star Hop Workshop and I saw Saturn (and it’s rings!) for the first time! I learnt my way around the night sky and was able to share that knowledge with my family! Had a wonderful evening and the hot chocolate and space cupcake were delicious!
Melanie Palmer 2023-11-11To book us for your school or ask us a question about this experience, fill out our enquiry form and we’ll get back to you within 2 working days.
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