3-2-1 BLAST OFF! School children to celebrate space launch

World Museum Liverpool will celebrate British astronaut Tim Peake’s launch into space on Tuesday 15 December with an exciting day of space-themed events for 300 primary school children.

Children will gather to watch a live broadcast of the rocket launch, before taking part in a series of interactive activities designed to teach them about life on the International Space Station, and the fascinating science behind human space flight.

Tim Peake, the European Space Agency’s first British astronaut, will travel to the International Space Station where he will live and work until June 2016.

Excitement for the launch has been building at World Museum for several months, after it was selected as one of 20 centres from across the UK to host the Destination Space education programme.

Jon Marrow, senior education manager at National Museums Liverpool, says: “The Destination Space programme has proved to be a huge hit so far with school groups and visitors alike. To date, more than 11,000 people have taken part in the events here at World Museum.

“We can’t wait to celebrate Tim’s launch with children from across Merseyside. I’m sure that it will be a memorable day for them, and hopefully one that might inspire them to think about working in the space sector in the future. Space flight is the ultimate team effort, made possible by a huge crew of talented individuals – there really is a role for everyone out there!”

After watching the launch, children can get hands-on with Lego rover robots led by robotics specialists from the University of Liverpool. They will also watch live experiments to discover how science makes human space flight possible, and find out more about life on the International Space Station at a special Planetarium show.

There will also be an opportunity for children to learn how to ‘train like an astronaut’ with help from Liverpool John Moores University’s expert sports scientists. The team have developed ‘Mission X’; an international learning challenge focusing on fitness and nutrition in preparation for the demands of space travel.

Professor Andrew Newsam from the Astrophysics Research Institute at Liverpool John Moores University will close the day’s events with a talk revealing how modern technology is opening up a view of the Cosmos on a scale that astronomers would never have believed possible, just a couple of generations ago.