Alston Observatory Workshops

Workshops at the Alston Observatory

Several workshops suitable for different age-groups are held at the Alston Observatory. Please email us at alstonobservatory@uclan.ac.uk for more details.

Primary Workshops

Scale of the Solar System: This session introduces the concept of the scale of the solar system to students who are studying Astronomy for the first time. A practical activity is followed by a planetarium talk and discussion session where the students can engage their imagination and ask questions. This session approximately 1 hour. Due to the size of the planetarium we can accommodate groups of up to 30 primary aged students. Please email us at alstonobservatory@uclan.ac.uk for more details.

Secondary Workshops

Detecting Planets: Centred around the Kepler Space Telescope this workshop offers students a chance to think about how we detect planets of different sizes and what we look for when we look for life on other planets. This workshop includes a presentation, discussion, practical workshop and a short movie presentation and lasts around 1 hour. It is ideal for KS3 students and can be ran for groups of 16 students.

Rose Tinted Glasses: This workshop focuses on the range of the electromagnetic spectrum and how different filters can be used to observe the different properties of an object. This workshop includes a presentation and demonstrations which the students will participate in and lasts around 1 hour. This workshop is ideal for students who are being introduced to the electromagnetic spectrum at KS4. Groups of up to 20 can be accommodated.

Stellar Explosions: Students will be introduced to the evolution of massive stars and this will be compared to the evolution of the Sun during a presentation. Students will also take part in practical demonstrations to aid the learning process. This workshop is ideal for KS4 students and lasts around 1 hour. This workshop can also be delivered in school.

The Expanding Universe: This workshop is currently under development but will be aimed at KS4 students.