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Our Year 5 Trip to the Cambridge Institute of Astronomy
On Monday 18th November we blasted off to the Cambridge Institute
of Astronomy. Upon arrival we all went into the lecture theatre
and met our instructor for the trip, Dr Carolin Crawford.
We all took part in a fun quiz to test our knowledge and we all
had to make guesses! However James won the first game and
Henry the next.
We then listened to a fascinating presentation by Dr Crawford.
We saw real pictures of planets taken by satellites and space
probes, and watched videos taken of astronauts on the moon.
From above we were able to see all the lights on the earth, light
flashing from storms and the Northern Lights. It was amazing!
Did you know only 12 people have been on the moon?
We took turns holding pieces of space rock or meteorite.
The planets in our solar system can be divided into 2 groups.
The Solid Rock and the Gas Giants. The solid rock include
Mercury, Venus, earth and Mars. The Gas giants Jupiter,
Saturn, Uranus and Neptune.
Did you know that planets are all named after Greek and Roman
Gods?
Dwarf Planets are named after Gods from other cultures. Some
of their names are Sedna, Orus, Eris, Varuna and Makemake.
Did you know it takes 91/2 years to travel to Pluto? A shuttle is
due to arrive there in 2015 and send back the first ever pictures
of its surface!
We split into 2 groups and took turns visiting the Observatory.
Dr Crawford explained where the best places are to have the
biggest telescopes.
She demonstrated how the observatory walls open and how the
telescope can be moved around. We all loved this as we all
moved in a circle as Dr Crawford turned a wheel as the whole
room turned around us.
We arrived back at school at 1 o’clock.
What Year 5 say…
It was nice to know a bit more about the Solar System. Tia.
I didn’t know how big the biggest star was, so I enjoyed
learning about it. Connor W
I like how the Observatory moved around, it took me by
surprise! Jack
I learned that the planet Venus is not a good place to go! EvieRose
I liked finding out about the telescope. Ben
There are 6 stars bigger then the Sun! Bradley O
I liked seeing the telescope. Sophie A
The telescope moving was great! Ryan
I learned how big space is and how far away other planets are
from the earth. Ellie
I liked the names of the stars. Lily
There are more dwarf planets then I thought James
I enjoyed holding the space rock. Connor R
The rocks we held were really heavy and one was shaped like a
parrot! Taylor
I enjoyed learning about the different planets and finding out
what the names of the dwarf planets are. Eleanor