St Cedd’s School Pupils Examine Lunar Samples from NASA for Space Week

St Cedd’s School in Chelmsford enjoyed a five-day space-themed adventure for its Space Week, complete with lunar samples loaned from NASA and a visit from astronomer Dr Robin Catchpole.

The week-long celebration of science, from 19-23 May, was bursting with captivating activities designed to inspire curiosity, imagination and scientific thinking amongst all pupils, age 3-11.

Dr Catchpole, a former Senior Astronomer at the Royal Observatory, Greenwich, kicked off the celebrations with a fascinating whole school assembly followed by workshops with Year 6, where he shared insights from his extensive career in astronomy and culminated in an exciting Q&A session with pupils.

Throughout the week, pupils from Pre-School to Year 6 attended special science lessons where they were surprised with genuine meteorites and soil from the moon’s surface, courtesy of NASA and the Science and Technology Facilities Council. Astronauts collected the samples between 1969 and 1972, and the children thoroughly enjoyed acting as space scientists to test each sample with tools such as a magnaprobe and USB microscope to observe their properties.

Children also produced postcards reflecting their understanding and imagination of space exploration, as part of an international outreach programme, and attended Train Like an Astronaut sessions during lunchtime which were based on the UK Space Agency’s Mission X programme, designed to help pupils explore the kinds of physical and mental skills astronauts need.

The pupils’ postcards will be launched into space aboard the New Shepard rocket, returning back to St Cedd’s School as extraordinary keepsakes for pupils.

St Cedd’s School’s Head of Science, Mrs Tina Royal-Clark, who organised the School’s Space Week, says: “Our Space Week has been an incredibly enriching experience for our pupils. The chance to hold real samples of moon soil, carry out scientific investigations like space scientists, and test rocks to identify whether they came from Earth or space was an unforgettable opportunity that has sparked a real sense of awe. One of the highlights was creating postcards that will travel into space on one of Blue Origin’s upcoming space missions; this captured the imaginations of all pupils. Their enthusiasm and curiosity created excitement across the school and has demonstrated how powerful hands-on learning can be.”

Mr Matthew Clarke, Head of St Cedd’s School on New London Road, says: “I am delighted that we have realised our ambition of bringing outer space into the classroom and am looking forward to seeing the adventure our postcards enjoy when St Cedd's School heads into space!”