Using the inspiring stories of the Hershel family to create wonder in Slough
The Royal Astronomical Society held hands-on engaging workshops about the discoveries of the Hershels at Slough Museum, where families took part in a 4-week scheme that involved gaining stickers to mark their progress
Inclusive Outcome Areas: Possible selves, Developing skills, Social connection
Using the inspiring stories of the Herschel family, and the links to their lives in Slough, the Royal Astronomical Society delivered a series of workshops to celebrate and create wonder around topics such as infra-red light, constellations, comets and telescopes. As part of the co-creation and planning, the team worked worked with Milan Govedarica and Marina Moore from Slough Museum, a community venue with connections to schools in Slough and HAF (Holiday Activity and Food) communities, to organise the series of workshops. They also collaborated with Richard Emerson, a local expert in Herschel science, who provided posters and stories that he created for the workshops.
Each workshop was delivered at Slough Museum to children from Years 5-8 over four weekends, with a different theme covered each week including the nights sky, constellations, electrical circuits, telescopes and the discoveries of the Herschels. The Royal Astronomical Society’s team introduced a sticker and certificate scheme that aimed to encourage attendees to complete all four workshops to earn badges and a completion certificate in Astronomy through the Herschels. This meant each child had a total of 8 hours of delivery across the project timescale, with repeat interventions as opposed to a one-off session. The project lead confirmed that the scheme did work in encouraging participants to come back stating in her interview that “95% were recurring participants” and “at the last workshop the children brought their certificates with them waiting for their last sticker”. She noted that she will be continuing the scheme at other Royal Astronomical Society workshops and events.
Please see below the Explore Your Universe: Valuing Inclusion report by Jen DeWitt and Sophie Bartlett. This report delves into the findings from the grant programme and how effective the 6 inclusive outcome areas were.