COVID 19 PANDEMIC - TEMPORARY MEASURES
With the safety of staff, pupils (and myself) in mind, I felt that the responsible approach during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic was not to present in the planetarium dome but rather to present in a classroom or hall, provided that any windows were fitted with blinds or curtains or could be covered in some other way to reduce the level of daylight.
This led to the realisation that presenting in this way will always remain an option for schools whose hall is not big enough to accommodate the dome (sometimes the case with village schools).
Unfortunately star and constellation projections cannot be presented in this way as that requires use of the dome and star projector, but "Earth & Space" sessions can be of the usual duration by including more material than there is usually sufficient time to cover.
The prime objective of "The Black Hole" is to amplify and enhance aspects of the National Curriculum.
New digital images are included where relevant as soon as they become available, ensuring presentations are kept up-to-date with the most recent discoveries.
All sessions are 100% presenter-led: your children WILL NOT be watching a film... they can do that at home!
Presentations are timed to make full use of the time available whilst having regard to the age of the children and your school’s individual time constraints. Sessions are usually 40-55 minutes for "Earth & Space".
10 minutes 'turn around' is programmed between successive sessions which should give sufficient time for tables to be wiped with disinfectant.
Presentations cover the nature of our Sun and stars generally, solar system bodies, day & night, years, distances, phases of the Moon and the apparent motions of the Sun and stars. The significance and location of “The North Star” is explained to the older children.
Presentations are also offered to KS1 classes: they include similar material to that of the KS2 sessions but the language is simplified where necessary and some of the more difficult ideas are omitted: this also allows the session lengths to be a little shorter, as appropriate to the younger children. Various images from deep space are included as an illustration of imaginary pictures to be found in the sky.
It may be that you are planning to study the Moon Landings or perhaps the planet Mars in more detail - "Earth & Space" sessions can be adjusted to include an overview of either of these exciting topics.