Bowerhill pupils reach for the stars

Young space enthusiasts dressed up as astronauts, built rockets and learned about the night sky as a local primary school celebrated its fourth annual Space Day.

Bowerhill Primary School held its Space Day on Thursday 1st October, ahead of World Space Week.

The school welcomed Simon Barnes, chair of Wiltshire Astronomical Society, who spoke to the children about space and his work as an amateur astronomer.

He also shared facts about the solar system and showed the children photographs from the society’s members, including images taken from his garden observatory.

Simon said, “We want to spread the knowledge of astronomy and tell children all about the sky at night. Perhaps encourage them to be future astronomers, scientists and engineers.”

Children also took part in a range of space-themed activities and a competition to build a rocket.

The entries included rockets made from clothes, tins of food and gymnastics equipment, with Addi, Benji, Scarlett, Maggie, Pippa and Harrison chosen as the winners for their creativity, originality and launch power.

Teacher Sarah Bain said, “This is always such a fun day for our school with both children and staff getting involved.

“I love seeing the costumes. I love seeing the competitions. It was incredible to see the creativity.

“Our Space Day keeps getting better each year and we’re looking forward to seeing how it grows in the future.”

The school will continue its space-themed activities when astronomer and author Dr Sarah Crick visits to share her knowledge of space and lead a workshop with pupils.