ASDC has awarded 22 grants to science and discovery centres and museums as part of the Our World From Space programme.
Our World From Space is a two-year national STEM programme exploring the relevance of UK space science for the future health and sustainability of our home planet. This project is funded by UK Space Agency as part of their wider Inspiration Programme, in partnership with Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), part of UK Research and Innovation.
See below for a list of the participating science centres and museums along with a brief description of what they plan to deliver over the next two years:
Aberdeen Science Centre
Aberdeen Science Centre will take part in “Our World from Space” by engaging with children, young people, and families from across Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire, introducing them to space science activities with a focus on climate, biodiversity and human impact.
Through the development of an interactive workshop, “Space for Planet Earth”, participants will explore how space and satellite technologies are used on a daily basis to monitor climate and biodiversity here on Earth. Participants will have the opportunity to use new equipment to make their own discoveries.
The “Space for Planet Earth” workshop will be available to book for school visits from Summer 2023. It will also be available for up to 10 community engagement sessions, where our aim is to engage with underrepresented audiences who may think science “isn’t for me”.
“Our World from Space” will also run as our public theme throughout March, April and May 2024, giving children and their families the opportunity to take part in the workshop, engage with floor activities as well as attend our “Meet The Experts” day.
Aero Space Kinross
Over time we have been losing the night sky and our visible connection to the cosmos. Scotland is uniquely placed in the world in that it still maintains large areas of unpolluted dark skies. We aim to support young people to discover the impacts of artificial light and encourage them to reduce light polluted skies in their local area.
Workshops will last 90 minutes and begin with an immersive, presenter led, session in our mobile planetarium. Here we will explore the night sky and learn how artificial light can affect human health and the natural world around us. Learning will be extended with the immersive ‘fulldome’ film “We Are Guardians” showing wider issues of climate change.
This will be enhanced by hands-on, interactive, activities in class; where young people will complete light design challenges and learn how to reduce levels of wasted light. We will share how to conduct full light fitting surveys and how to research levels of light pollution based on real satellite data. Finally, we will provide support materials and information for educators and promote links with remote and rural schools in dark sky areas for comparison.
Armagh Observatory & Planetarium
Armagh Observatory and Planetarium will engage with primary school and family audiences in two inspirational programmes, “Saturday Astronomy Club” for families, and “Our World from Space” for KS2 school children, featuring Earth observation science. Our Planetarium dome provides the inspirational means to instill wonder and awe through immersive visualisations expertly written and scripted by in-house Armagh astronomers. The Saturday Club will provide deeper engagement with an extended programme including an interactive hands-on workshop, outdoor session and exploration of our Planetarium’s interactive exhibitions. The ticket will include one adult and one child to promote intergenerational learning.
The KS2 school’s element will utilise our Planetarium dome to deliver the content and also a teacher resource pack with links for further reading. The aim is to give teachers the tools and confidence to engage in Earth observation science. We aim to show how these issues can be localised and how there are impacts that can affect us all, but also measures we can take to tackle their effects of e.g., climate change.
Cambridge Science Centre
Cambridge Science Centre (CSC) will produce a Key Stage 2 and 3 Science Show, and a suite of family drop-in activities, themed around the specific climate and environmental challenges faced in the East of England and the ways that satellite technology and information can inform our understanding of them, and suggest some opportunities for positive action.
These will be delivered at our pop-up Science Centres which are moving through the Fenlands of Cambridgeshire in 2023 and 2024. The Fenlands are the most deprived area of the East of England and are at the forefront of the negative impact of climate and environmental change in the UK due to their low-lying lands and reliance on agriculture.
Young people in this vulnerable area will see the local impact of environmental changes through various models and data sets sourced via space technology - such as satellite mapping. They will be supported to take action through take-home resources outlining actions that they can take.
Dynamic Earth
Dynamic Earth will deliver a vibrant and varied programme of events and experiences as part of the Our World From Space Programme. From family fun drop-in activities during school holidays which connect everyone to the amazing satellite science which impacts on their everyday lives – to opportunities to meet real Earth Observation Scientists who make amazing things happen right here in the UK.
Our Summer Outdoor Club will give opportunities for children and young people to explore satellite applications in an in-depth way through innovative indoor and outdoor activities in our neighbouring Holyrood Park. Our Kids’ Club and under 5’s sensory programme will deliver new opportunities for intergenerational and peer-to-peer learning about satellites and their local and global applications and a new seasonal planetarium show will help people see Our World From Space… quite literally!
Dundee Science Centre
Dundee Science Centre offers a unique range of engaging space-related activities reaching diverse audiences through in-centre, online, and community settings. Our stellar science communication team will deliver shows, demonstrations, and take-home activities whilst utilising existing exhibits like our Climate Challenge zone, to increase science capital across the region, raise awareness of the space sector, and create opportunities for industry and academic experts to engage with public audiences.
Contributing to thriving communities is at the heart of this programme. Through our fun and inspiring programs, we will illustrate the space industry’s prominence in combatting climate change and the positive impact we can have on our planet by making small changes.
By collaborating and working in partnership with experts, we will showcase local cutting-edge developments that are having a global impact. Taking the global-to-local approach with our partners from the third sector, academia, and industry, we will highlight the diverse range of STEM pathways and career opportunities available in the space sector. Dundee Science Centre plays an important role in creating curiosity, and the opportunity to explore different Space related themes whilst inspiring our communities in a fun and welcoming environment for all.
Exeter Science Centre
In the Our World from Space programme, Exeter Science Centre will be running a variety of interactive events across the South West in their signature “pop-up” format. They will be reaching young people, families and the wider public by running workshops and events in schools, community hubs, museums, libraries and festivals, with a particular focus on disadvantaged communities.
Through this programme, the Exeter Science Centre team will connect people with the region’s broad expertise in space and satellite technologies and environmental science; highlighting career paths into these areas and empowering everyone to help tackle the global issues referenced in the programme.
Glasgow Science Centre
Learning Lab: Scotland in Space is a unique engagement programme, supporting 11 to 13-year-olds to explore innovations in the space sector including applications of Earth observation data. The programme includes varied learning experiences like video content, practical activities, discussion and meet the expert sessions on the themes of rockets, spaceports, satellites and data. 540 pupils and their teachers from across Scotland will have the opportunity to take part in this 6-week learning programme that celebrates the amazing science and engineering of the UK’s world-leading space industry.
Life Science Centre
Space is a growing industry in the North East. This grant allows us a fantastic opportunity to increase and broaden our engagement programme, helping us highlight the impact of satellite applications, increasing our understanding of our home planet. Our regional identity is important to those in the North East, and being able to highlight regional impacts alongside the global impacts will bring home the importance of these issues to our audience.
Whilst the majority of our audience will come via the proposed planetarium show, the breadth of our engagement offer for Earth, climate and space science via the centre takeover day and schools participation will increase the opportunity for in-depth engagement.
Living Rainforest
Our programme, Rainforests from Space, introduces visitors to The Living Rainforest (particularly our young visitors aged 7 – 17) to space science and its importance for monitoring the health of the world’s rainforests.
It includes an introductory video, engaging online and classroom activities, and in-person interactive sessions led by our trained education staff.
The activities use data and images from the UK Space Agency to highlight how the world’s rainforests are being impacted by human activities, including the threats of climate change, deforestation and rising sea levels.
National Space Centre
The National Space Centre believes that space is for everyone, and we want to make sure that we open the opportunity to explore the Our World from Space Project to as many of our visitors and local community as possible. That is why we have put together a programme of activities that covers a wide breadth of learners, from different age groups, backgrounds and learning styles.
We will draw links within our local area and community with the global issues of climate change and how Earth observation can help us to understand and make changes to help our world. To accomplish this, we will refer to and include local researchers from Leicester University and other relevant institutions where possible.
Oxford University Museum of Natural History
Oxford University Museum of Natural History is committed to presenting evidence-based information about the climate and biodiversity crises in a positive and empowering way.
Biodiversity and particularly the important role of technology in biodiversity monitoring would be a major theme for the museum’s 2024 family programming.
A family science fair and programme of family activities provide an opportunity to explore the breadth of technology used to study and monitor biodiversity and engage with researchers directly involved.
With support from ASDC we will be more creative and ambitious with our plans. We will be more inclusive and collaborative in our approach.
Royal Museums Greenwich
The Royal Observatory at Greenwich was founded by Charles II in 1675 and is one of the most important historic scientific sites in the world. Today the Observatory is a museum and science centre which provides access to information about space to schools and the wider public. A visit to the Observatory offers inspiring planetarium shows, workshops, lectures or events delivered by REAL astronomers based around REAL cutting-edge science.
Our content relates to space science and its associated branches of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) subjects. It is not often that students or the public get access to state-of-the-art equipment, real scientific data and to chat with real scientists; at the Royal Observatory they do, and it is what makes our programme truly unique.
Science Oxford
OWFS-themed STEM Careers Days delivered in-school by Science Oxford staff and local STEM volunteers for year groups of young people aged 11-14. The events are based on a tried and tested format that is facilitated around practical and real-world challenges and associated interactive activities which support the development of skills such as problem solving, communication and teamwork.
OWFS-themed planetarium shows for Science Oxford Centre family and community group visitors, delivered by Science Oxford staff and with a focus on how scientists and engineers work together to launch and use satellites/space telescopes and how images from space can be used for the benefit of environmental monitoring, problem-solving and protection.
Other activity options that will be explored if required include short, drop-in, hands-on activities suitable for delivery by staff or local STEM researchers in the dedicated Live Lab space and associated activity and information linked to biodiversity monitoring (from far away to close-up) as a development for Science Oxford’s ‘Explorer Backpacks’ for families to use in the centre’s 15 acres of woodland.
Science Skills Academy
The Science Skills Academy (SSA) aim to engage all school pupils aged 10-14 in the Highland region of Scotland each year through their network of Newton Rooms. Pupils take part in a full day of STEM activity, aiming to raise awareness of STEM careers available locally. Many communities in the Highlands are in remote areas with unique geographical barriers. Many communities are not in easy access of a science centre.
The Highlands and Islands is fast becoming a hub of space sector activity. Our northern geography and low population base provide the perfect conditions to launch commercial satellites. Scotland’s space economy is estimated to grow to £4.2 billion between 2021-2030.
The ‘Our World from Space’ programme will enable the Science Skills Academy to extend our engagement from schools into the local community, connecting families with the role of satellites in space observation and highlighting the career opportunities available to communities in the Highlands and Islands in the Space sector.
STEM Discovery Centre
The ground-breaking programme Biomass is set to launch from Kourou in 2024. With industry links, we will develop and enhance our presentation to include Our World from Space, potentially reaching 9,330 KS1- 3 students from 140 primary schools.
We will welcome and inspire students/teachers and families into the world of aerospace. Together we will explore our planet and how space science contributes to our day-to-day lives. We will look at how satellites provide us with real time information and the crucial data satellites provide to save lives.
Students and Families will be able to join us with hands-on activities, enthusing our audience about the world of space science, with over 35 workshops we can support Our World from Space through several popular, established activities as well as adding an exciting extra dimension to our provisions.
Techniquest
Techniquest will offer an Our World From Space programme for ALL of our visitors from 0-90! An ambitious multi-pronged programme of activities to engage our visitors in the role Space plays in our everyday lives and supports research into the most pressing challenges facing Earth, like Climate Change, Sustainability, and Biodiversity.
The Observatory Science Centre
The Observatory Science Centre is committed to working towards a more sustainable future for planet Earth. With strong links to space and astronomy we are pleased to embrace all aspects of ‘Our World from Space.’ We plan to do this through interactive science shows, drop-in activities and ‘Meet the Expert’ sessions. These will promote satellite enhanced Earth observations alongside fun demonstrations/activities highlighting what is happening to our oceans, the land, our climate and the environment in general.
Family science shows, while drawing attention to the plight of Earth will also put a positive spin on how we can help improve the situation. This show will be adapted for schools enabling us to reach children from as many diverse backgrounds as possible (our catchment includes areas with multiple deprivation) including SEND. Drop-in activities and ‘Meet the Expert’ sessions will give visitors a chance to participate in their own time, with their own agenda and on a more personal level rather than in a group situation, helping to build confidence.
Overall this project will: reach as many people from diverse backgrounds and abilities as possible; highlight the importance of satellite technology to learn more about Earth; increase confidence and encourage participation.
Thinktank
Thinktank, Birmingham Science Museum aims to expand and update how it can provide more relevant information through discussions and dialogue with our audiences in how we look at our climate from space. The research undertaken by UK Space Agency & NERC compliments the museum’s new climate change gallery, Our Changing Planet, and will support new areas of engagement across formal learning.
Currently at the museum there is no space theatre show to offer to Key Stage 3 audiences; this project would provide a significant opportunity to bring in the latest space science research and open discussion for young people and educators to consider careers in the industry.
Our World from Space will be able to provide focus on developing much-needed skills and knowledge to support educators to form long lasting relationships and awareness of the space sector, positively encouraging the next generation of scientists and carers for our planet.
The knowledge and development drawn from Our World from Space will also be adapted to inspire beyond the classroom and transition into both museum and community settings, to capture the imagination of our visitors and Birmingham residents, who will be able to share and reflect positively on their own local responsibilities as part of a global community.
Wonderseekers, Winchester Science Centre
We will create a new fun, positive and interactive experience that explores how space science is used to support our understanding of the world using the themes of climate, oceans and biodiversity to start engaging children with the climate and biodiversity crises. Working with primary school aged children, this project will begin to build scientific enquiry skills to enable children to make connections to science and begin their journey towards acting for our planet. We will develop and test this experience with our priority audiences, before subsequently incorporating it into our community engagement programme and commercial schools offer to establish a legacy beyond the timescale of the project.
W5
W5 is proud to be a part of ‘Our World From Space’, a new initiative to inspire and engage the people of Northern Ireland with a sense of curiosity and discovery about the UK’s role in space.
The programme seeks to empower a society that embraces the value and relevance of space science for everyday life and the sustainable future of our planet. Focusing on the UK’s key position as a global provider of satellite technologies, it becomes critical that we better understand how these technologies support Earth observation and climate science.
Join the team at W5 as they explore these exciting opportunities through a series of new, dynamic set of workshops and activities to engage schools, groups, and families within W5 and beyond.
Xplore! Science Discovery Centre
The ‘Our World From Space’ programme at Xplore! Science Discovery Centre will engage and inspire school-aged children, their youth group leaders, teachers, and families through interactive, hands-on activities.
Training and resources tailored for youth group leaders and teachers will kick-start multiple engagements with children aged 6-14. New activities will link to cutting-edge UK space developments, including the role of satellites in Earth observation and the relevance of UK space science to our daily lives. 12 schools and 16 youth groups aligned to the national programme’s key audiences will take part from north Wales and northwest England.
A wow-factor interactive public show for families will be delivered at Xplore! in spring 2024, reaching over 2,000 people. The show will feature up-to-date information on UK expertise in understanding and providing solutions for climate, biodiversity and monitoring Earth’s land, sea and air.
Scientists and researchers will help deliver activities and answer questions for families attending the DARGANFOD//DISCOVER science and arts festival in August 2024. We will continue to engage with Snowdonia Aerospace and their plans for spaceport operations from Llanbedr in northwest Wales.
