MOUNT House pupils will have the chance to explore space when the Space Odyssey planetarium comes to the school next week for a two-day series of presentations and demonstrations. The visit has been arranged to complement and support the space-related part of the science curriculum at the school. Fifty pupils from St Rumon?s Primary School in Tavistock will also be taking part. The Space Odyssey planetarium is an inflatable walk-in dome over 6 metres in diameter, which can accommodate up to 60 children with their teachers at any one time. A state-of-the-art planetarium projector is used to create a breathtaking simulation of the night sky. During the two-day visit to Mount House, there will be six presentations, each designed to suit the relevant age-group, ranging from seven year olds, who will be introduced to the basics of space ? the Sun, Moon and Solar System, to the 13 year-olds, who will look way beyond the Solar System to outer space and the remote constellations, and even learn about space exploration. The Space Odyssey visit is one of a number of science curriculum related activities that the school arranges through the year. Experts and professionals from several scientific fields will be coming to Mount House to talk to the children, and there will also be a number of interesting outside trips including the Eden Project in Cornwall and the Owl Sanctuary. Dr Alison Eagleton, head of science at Mount House said: ?We have a broad science curriculum here, and we do a lot to make it interesting and to relate it to everyday life. With the planetarium, we aim not just to educate and inform the children, but to excite their wonder and curiosity by bringing their classroom studies of space to life.?
