Roadshow to reveal the wonders of astronomy
Posted on 13 March 2009
In partnership with the University of Sheffield and the Yorkshire Planetarium, the University is staging Dark Sky Yorkshire, a roadshow that will travel across the region in 2009 working from six venues, including the Yorkshire Air Museum and Ryedale Folk Museum.
Dark Sky Yorkshire is supported by the Science and Technology Facilities Council.
It is a great example of two universities – York and Sheffield – collaborating with others to reach a family audience
Dr David Jenkins
The roadshow, whose first stop is at the Yorkshire Air Museum on Saturday 21 March, will offer a mix of workshops, including air rocket construction and space origami where visitors can try their hands at creating and testing their own rockets and models. There will also be 3D cinema presentations throughout the day, allowing people to experience the huge scale of the planets and the stars.
Visitors will hear talks on photography and how the incredible images of space are taken as well as tips on how to use your own camera to capture the wonders of the sky.
Along with these interactive workshops there will be venue specific lectures, night sky presentations and, weather permitting, various night sky observations.
Dr David Jenkins, of the Department of Physics at York said: "It is a great example of two universities – York and Sheffield – collaborating with others to reach a family audience."
Ian Reed, Director of the Yorkshire Air Museum, said: "We are thrilled to be the first venue in Yorkshire to host this exciting outreach project which promises to be a fascinating event for the whole family to enjoy together. We work with universities and colleges from all over the UK and beyond on a number of different educational projects and it is great for the Yorkshire Air Museum to be involved in this new inter- University collaboration."
Students from the two universities and volunteers from the Yorkshire Planetarium, the Star Centre and local astronomical societies will be staffing the events across the region.
The workshops at the various locations will cost £5 for a family group (up to five people) which will cover the costs of the workshop materials and transport. Other costs are being funded by grants from the Institute of Physics, Science and Technology Facilities Council and support from the Yorkshire Planetarium.
For information on the first event on 21 March 2009: Star Party at the Yorkshire Air Museum visit: www.sciencecityyork.org.uk/cgi-bin/item.cgi?id=3640
ENDS
Notes to editors:
- More information on the Science and Technology Facilities Council at www.scitech.ac.uk
- More information on the University of York’s Department of Physics at www.york.ac.uk/depts/phys/about/index.htm