Gillian Keegan MP visited the South Downs Planetarium and Science Centre based in Chichester on Friday 15th June. The MP was given tour of the centre and the night sky she would see that evening when she looks up.
The Chichester MP heard about the amazing work done by the volunteers who run the planetarium, that welcomed over 17,400 visitors last year alone, running 338 shows. As an educational charity the Centre works with schools and other groups to inspire young minds. In 2017 the Planetarium welcomed over 160 schools. They also offer teacher training, particularly at Primary level as one of the founding trustees and principle lecturer, Dr John Mason told Gillian, ‘if you can teach about dinosaurs and space you will go far in primary’. He went onto explain that, ‘astronomy is a great way to capture their imagination and encourage the scientists of the future’.
Like space itself the Planetarium educational programmes knows no bounds, and runs many programmes for children and adults with complex educational needs, and the team there often tailor the performances in the dome to facilitate particular learning requirements.
During the show in the dome itself Gillian learnt more about the site. The projector itself is the only electromechanical projector this side of the Atlantic, and one of only seven in existence. The planetarium also has digital projection capabilities, that was built predominantly by local businesses and volunteers. It allows visitors to view imagery of the international space station where Chichester born Tim Peake spent 186 days, as the first British astronaut to board the station. The precision of the technology in the dome is so accurate it is the only planetarium used as part of the Royal Navy’s Maritime Warfare officer training in astronavigation, and is used to train all naval officers in the country.
Over a cup of tea Gillian was told about future aspirations of the centre to expand the educational programmes offered by the Planetarium. As well as the pressures that come with being a volunteer run educational charity. As they are always looking for an extra pair of hands.
After her visit the Chichester MP said, ‘It was great to learn more about the beautiful sky’s over Chichester, and I will be looking up tonight to see the show for real tonight. The Planetarium has an incredible ethos educating everyone from 6 to 96 as I heard today. The dedicated volunteers are truly inspiring our future generations to become the much-needed scientists of tomorrow.’