Families celebrate National Astronomy Week at the Science Oxford Centre
Wednesday 12th February 2025
Young stargazers explored the wonders of space and enjoyed a family planetarium show to celebrate National Astronomy Week (1-9 February) at the Science Oxford Centre in Headington on Friday 7th February.
Visitors were joined by volunteers from Abingdon Astronomy Society, and – although it was a cloudy evening – discovered what to look for in the night sky with telescopes and real lunar meteorites from the astronomers’ personal collection.
Families experienced the scale of the Solar System in an out-of-this-world planetarium show that transported imaginations to space and back, exploring the possibilities of life in our cosmic neighbourhood inside Science Oxford’s inflatable dome. Young people also had the chance to make their own constellation projector and explored the colours of planets’ atmospheres by creating their own chromatography planet art – a must-have for all budding astronomers!
Local families from Headington schools and Barton Community were invited to enjoy the illuminating evening thanks to funding from The Oxford Trust and the Association for Science Discovery Centres.
Sian Stratton, Community Outreach Manager, at Science Oxford, said: “We were delighted to be able to offer some local school children free tickets to our Starry Night evening thanks to The Oxford Trust and the Association for Science and Discovery Centres. It was great opportunity for families and young people to discover the night sky overhead, with astronomers and experts on hand. Visitors of all ages also had fun with stargazing inspired hands-on activities and enjoyed the opportunity, despite the weather, to gaze at the stars under our inflatable dome.
Visitors to the Starry Night event said: they were more likely to look up at the night sky, looking for our closest planets and constellations. The excited young visitors to the planetarium show couldn’t believe the size of the galaxy by saying “that our galaxy is HUGE!” and being excited that “there is still more to see”.
For home astronomers, February’s ‘planet parade’ special planetary alignment is still visible, and in particular Venus, Mars and Jupiter are still great naked-eye targets perfect for beginners and young stargazers. Find out more from Chris Lintott, Professor of Astrophysics, University of Oxford, and presenter of BBC’s “The Sky At Night”, and – on the next clear evening – go outside and look up!
