Year Two Boys’ Explore the Milky Way

On a blustering afternoon, the Year Two’s from the Boys’ School had a far more exciting lunchtime planned than rainy-day activities. Instead of being stuck indoors, 2KM and 2HH piled onto the bus and set off for the Stardome Observatory to enjoy an afternoon exploring the Milky Way.

On arrival, they were greeted by Stardome’s friendly education team, who led the children into the classroom for the first part of their visit. Back at school, our boys have been learning about the solar system, and this trip’s goal was to bring textbooks to life in an immersive experience.

Throughout the classroom talk, the penny in young minds began to drop as the boys realised how big our solar system is, the magnitude of our sun, and how small Earth really is. In one activity, eight students were given a planet each and placed around the room, scaled to the solar system in real life. Shrieks of laughter ensued as Neptune and Uranus were sent outside the room, indicative of their four billion kilometres separation from Earth. They were also allowed to ask the expert questions, to which many hands went up enthusiastically.

On completion of the education session, the students were let loose in the museum exhibition section of Stardome. Split into groups, they were given some challenging quiz questions and only 20 minutes to explore the artefacts and find answers. The black hole model captured the attention of many boys, who were captivated by how objects disappeared into nothingness.

The final section of the trip involved a stay in the Planetarium. The dome ceiling room was littered with stars of the Milky Way, and the boys excitedly sank into comfy theatre seats, ready for the show. As large eyes stared at the roof, it was as if they were looking at the night sky through a telescope. As they journeyed through the galaxy, they passed planets and constellations, learning to look at the night sky and identify these for themselves.

The boys' joy and excitement did not cease the entire trip. It was an incredible opportunity to attend a school trip related to a topic they are passionate about. Thank you to our fantastic Year Two teachers Miss Hayley Hindson, Miss Kim McGregor, and Mrs Sue Castle the parent helpers, and the Stardome education team for expanding the boys' minds into the universe.