The talk by Dr Harris was inspirational, he was a great speaker and I was impressed by the children’s questions.
The visit fits well with our planets topic. We pulled out the gifted and talented children, mainly from Years 5 and 6, but there were a few Year 4 pupils. We brought those with ability in maths and science, but also leadership, because the social aspect is important, particularly in the Challenger mission when you work in teams.
I hope the visit will increase their understanding of space. The combination of hands-on exhibits and well presented information is very effective. The weather station where you present your own forecast is popular, and so is the touch wall for reaction times. It is better if teachers know their way around. There is a good teachers’ resource pack with ideas for the pre-visit activities and you could make it much more structured if you wanted to.