Siobhan Godwood takes a look at the Institute of Astronomy’s free series of talks on Wednesday nights
The Institute of Astronomy in Cambridge runs talks every Wednesday night on a huge variety of astronomical topics, as part of its outreach programme aimed at getting the people of Cambridge thinking about the starry skies. During half term and other school holidays the talks are targeted at younger members of the audience, and this February the discussion focused on Juno, the mission to Jupiter which will begin sending back photographs this July.
I attended with two enthusiastic 10 year olds, both of whom enjoyed the talk hugely. We were hoping to go outside and do some stargazing – which we did last year – but unfortunately the weather refused to play along and it was far too cloudy, not to mention rainy, for that. But the talk was brilliant, and there was a bonus talk afterwards all about the new ‘ninth planet’, which happens to be a particular interest of my son.
This is a brilliant, fun and educational free resource for families in Cambridge, and as it happened to take place on the same night as the city’s Twilight at the Museums event, it is perfectly timed for combining with some other cultural activities if you so wish.
