After nights of clear skies with loads of stars on display, I drove Henry and I to Sutton Bank in fog feeling a little bit downbeat. The event was part of the Dark Skies Festival 2019.
When we got there, we were met by the lovely Hidden Horizons team who had a “bad weather” plan. It worked really well and we both really enjoyed it. We were split into groups. We opted for outside first where we learnt about the telescope, asked as many questions as we wished and held two meteorites – how heavy! Obviously, it would have been amazing to star gaze but the weather just hadn’t played ball and this was still a very enjoyable evening. Henry loved asking the questions and I was pleasantly shocked as to what he asked! I need to read up….
Inside, we went into the Planetarium where the Winter Skies were explained to us. Wow, I felt genuinely inspired to get outside when the clouds clear. We are now armed with Apps to Download to give us a helping hand and point us in the right direction.
There was also a couple of activities set up to allow us to understand the different sizes of the planets in the solar systems and some craft. Plus refreshments in the cafe.
Throughout, the Hidden Horizons team were on hand to answer questions and Henry didn’t disappoint. The team were so helpful and couldn’t take enough time to explain. We were soon onto fossil hunting (which they do – look out for sessions!) and dinosaurs. A highlight of the evening was the in depth conversation with a gentleman who worked with Sir David Attenborough in Antarctica.
Both of us chatted on the way home about what a lovely evening we had had. We will definitely be back in the hope that the skies clear (but if you book and the cloud comes down, don’t be perturbed, they still make it a great event) and look forward to a fossil hunting adventure.
Thank you for a thoroughly enjoyable evening for both of us. I must now go and borrow Henry’s space book so I can keep up….or at least partake in the conversation when we have a clear night and we can get outside to spot the constellations.
Keep an eye on the Hidden Horizons events here