DULVERTON Junior School led an Astro Evening with flying through the solar system in a planetarium and learning about the history of rockets just two of the many activities on offer.
The evening on Wednesday, November 2 was part of the Exmoor Primary Science Partnership, and it also featured examining nocturnal creatures and star gazing.
Dulverton Junior School were joined by pupils from Exford, Cutcombe and Timberscombe first schools and East Anstey and Bishops Nympton primary schools.
“A great night was had by all,” said Sophie Tyler, outreach and engagement co-ordinator at Exmoor National Park Authority, who helped the children and their teachers explore the various activities.
She added: “Exmoor National Park became the very first International Dark Sky Reserve to be designated in Europe in 2011 and, as a bookend to our 2017 Dark Skies Festival, we were delighted to work with Dulverton Junior School to be part of their Astro Evening.
“It was wonderful to work alongside Exmoor Zoo, the Space Odyssey Planetarium and the Tiverton Astronomers to bring educational workshops to the students.
“We were lucky enough with the weather to take pupils outside exploring in the darkness. We learned about night vision, made human star constellations and even got a few glimpses of the stars through the clouds.”
Mike Homes, partnership and science lead at Dulverton Junior School, said the Astro Evening was a wonderful learning experience for the children: “It was great to see so many amazed faces throughout the evening.”
Carly Hatch, head of Dulverton Junior School said: “We were thrilled to have the education team from Exmoor Zoo, astronomers from the Tiverton and Mid Devon Astronomy Society and Simon Ould’s Space Odyssey mobile planetarium at the school to provide an excellent evening of hands-on workshops and talks – we even attempted to create star constellations on the playground.
“Thanks to the Odgen Trust, this was an incredible opportunity for our local schools to be leading primary education in space exploration.
“We would also like to thank the workshop leaders, teachers, school staff, governors and parents, all of whom ensured this event was truly exceptional.”