During Science week, the Science department took 152 year 7 students to the Observatory at Herstmonceux, in East Sussex.  The weather had been poor leading up to the trip, but thankfully, on the Friday it remained dry! 

The best thing about the Observatory is that there is lots of ‘hands-on’ experiments that the students can investigate.  They also got to take part in team activities such as bridge building and tower building, whilst competing against other groups.  The observatory staff also put on a show and this year it was linked to the health of our planet.  We learnt that chocolate is pollinated by flies in the show!  The staff at Herstmonceux showed the students what we are doing to our planet from plastic in the oceans to particulates in the air in a way which they understood.   Students could see why science is relevant to their everyday lives and it also helped them understand some of the more global issues that we are facing in the world.  It was fantastic to see the enthusiasm of all the students and also how well they conducted themselves. A very well done to Mrs Brady’s team who won the team challenges.

Evening sessions are available and you will have the chance to look through the telescopes on site.  It is great for younger children too as there is a discovery area outside where you can test ideas in a fun environment. If you would like to find out more about the observatory and go yourselves here is the link: https://www.the-observatory.org/

There is certainly something for everyone and I would recommend going if you get the chance!

Mrs M. Cardwell

Here are some comments from the students that went.

“To be honest this was one of the best trips because we went to a discovery park where we can discover things we didn’t know about. There was also a hearing test which went to 10 000 Hz! I could only hear between 2000-3000 because it goes so high pitched that you can’t hear it. In another part of Herstmonceaux you can see how earthquakes work. This was one of the best parts of the trip.” Wayne Hormillosa 7MI2

“At Herstmonceaux we did a lot of fun things. I would say the best trip ever. My favourite thing was the water circuit, discovery park and the hallway full of science experiments. My team for the bridge building and tower building worked very hard together. We won the bridge building. I missed quite a lot and really want to go back. This is my adventure of Herstmonceaux. I did not want to go home. I loved it and it was very creative.”

Grace Langride-Gardiner 7MI2

“It was fun. My favourite part was the playground. I will 100% be going back. I liked building the tower and bridge. I think out of ten I would give the trip ten. I bought from the gift shop some gem stones and bouncing putty. My group leader was Ms Crossing. She is so much fun.”

Jack Willets 7MI5