Welcome to The Observatory Science Centre

The course is a mix of classroom based teaching in one of the domes and practical hands-on teaching outdoors so you can learn how to use your telescope. Members of East Sussex Astronomical Society will guide you through setting up your telescope and getting the best out of it. Weather permitting they will also start you on your way to viewing the night sky.

24th March. This course will be teaching practical aspects of night sky photography through lectures and demonstrations. You do not need to bring cameras, tripods or telescopes just listen and learn and take away all the essential information you will need to start you on your fascinating journey into night sky photography. Image courtesy of John Fox.

30th March. Just occasionally we like to reserve an Open Evening for adults only and this is the date for this year. The indoor hands-on exhibits will still be available so you can explore to your hearts content!

Half day workshop for 6 - 8 year olds. What does it take to become an astronaut? We will investigate with some exciting activities to discover the challenges faced when reaching space.

Half day workshops for 6-8 years olds. Learn all about the features of the Moon through fun interactive activities. Make your own Moon model, create some fantastically messy craters, hear all about the first man on the Moon and find out if there really is a mysterious "Man in the Moon".

11th April - half day workshops for 9-11 year olds. What are fossils? Come and find out in this fascinating search for evidence of ancient life. Make your own plaster cast of a fossil and tour the Centre on a fossil hunt; our stone floor is full of all sorts of interesting stuff!

Come and enjoy the fabulous atmosphere that surrounds the Observatory at night and, weather permitting look through some of the largest telescopes in the country at some extraordinary night sky objects. Don't worry if it is cloudy we have a cloudy night contingency; a fascinating planetarium style talk! No booking required.

Half day workshops for 6-8 year olds. How does such a huge rocket actually get off the ground? Why does it "break up" and where do the astronauts sit? Come and find out in this fascinating workshop. It is the 50th anniversary this year of the first astronaut on the Moon and you will be able to find out exactly how they got there and back again. Its a fabulously fun workshop and you even get to build and launch your own water rocket.

17th April - half day workshops for 6-8 year olds and 9-11 year olds. Design your own simple model car and try different ways to make it move. Which is the best: gravity, balloons or batteries and propellers? Come and find out how to make your car go faster.

18th April - half day workshops for 9-11 year olds. What makes volcanoes blow, the Earth quake and the icecaps melt? What is in space and how do we know? This workshops looks at our dynamic Earth and how we look beyond Earth into space. We will even look down from space to learn more about the Earth.

4th - 6th May: Join in the fun during our Bubbletastic Weekend for the Bank Holiday. Create the most spectacular bubbles, find out what it is like to stand in a bubble, try to make the biggest bubble you can and even see if you can make a square bubble - is that really possible? Our bubble wall in the Light and Colour exhibition will also explain what you are looking at and why you see what you see. No pre-booking required and this activity is FREE with your normal admission.

Saturday 18th May. This evening event not only coincides with the national initiative 'Museums at Night' it also coincides with a 'Seasonal Blue Moon.'Come and join us for curry and a unique evening travelling through 'Time & Space.'

25th May - 2nd June: This year is the 100th anniversary of the total solar eclipse that helped to support Einstein's General Theory of Relativity. One of our working telescopes was used to photograph this historic eclipse on the 29th May 1919 and we are celebrating throughout the week with talks and lots of family friendly activities.

Saturday 15th June. In celebration of the 50th anniversary of the first Moon landing, this fabulous event will bring music and astronomy together. With a mix of vocal performances and solo piano performances married together with photographs and video, this promises to be a fascinating evening. The price includes a buffet supper and following the performance there will be a chance to view through the telescopes (weather permitting).

20th - 21st July. Join us for a fabulous weekend of activities to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the first astronaut on the Moon. There will be lots of fantastic activities during the day including rocket launching plus there will be a speaker on the evening of the 20th followed by viewing through the telescopes.

30th July - full day workshop for 6-8 years old. Find out what makes things fizz, bang and pop in some crazy chemistry experiments. It's full on fun and you get to try the experiments yourself as well as watching some pretty spectacular demonstrations.

31t July and 1st August - Full day workshop for 9-11 years old. Chemistry is definitely fun, especially when trying to find out what goes with a bang! Come and try some fabulous chemistry experiments and see some spectacular demonstrations.

Half day workshops for 6-8 year olds. Oh no a crime has been committed and we need your help to assist with an investigation!

10th August. As Earth passes through the debris trail left behind by comet Swift-Tuttle, particles of space dust enter the atmosphere leaving a trail of light behind; a shooting star. Join us for cheese, wine and and informative talk to learn more about this fascinating yearly event. If the weather is good you will also have the opportunity to view through the historic telescopes.

13th august - half day workshops for 6-8 year olds. There are some weird creatures here on Earth. They live in all sorts of strange places where humans would not survive. Could there be life beyond Earth? Would it be the same? Let's try and find out if it's possible.

14th August - half day workshop for 6-8 year olds. Be amazed how light and colour can make the world around us spectacular! Join us to explore a unique way of 'seeing' with specialist science equipment.

21st August - half day workshops for 6-8 years old: How many planets are in our solar system? Are they all the same? What makes Earth look so blue and Mars look so red? Come and find out about the planets with some amazing activities, then design and make a spacecraft to land an egg safely on the surface of another planet like Mars. You never know astronauts may go there one day.

22nd August - half day workshops for 9-11 years old. Sign up to produce your very own short animation to keep. You will use animation clay and craft materials to produce clay models based around the themes of space travel and astronomy. You will then work in small groups to bring your models to life and turn them into stop-motion animations; using cameras, animation software and animation theatres. There will also be the chance to add music to the animations, time permitting.

August 30th to September 1st: Soak up the incredible atmosphere that surrounds our fabulous observatory. Our annual event is incredibly warm and friendly and offers a magnificent opportunity to enjoy science and astronomy in a relaxed, informal setting, whether you are coming for the whole weekend, just for the day or for an evening.

September 9th - 13th: Are you looking for something a little different to stimulate your mind? Then this may be your opportunity to try something new. You are never too old to learn and we are actively encouraging a more senior audience to participate i our talks/activities throughout the week.

This twelve week course is for those with little or no knowledge of the subject. It will introduce you to our fascinating Universe; how we look at it, what is in it including the possibility of life elsewhere, how the Solar System formed etc. There may even be opportunities to look through one of the large telescopes. The course is taught in one of our domes under the backdrop of a historic telescope.

A fantastic opportunity to learn how to navigate your way around the night sky using the constellations as your guide. Taught in one of our domes under the backdrop of a historic telescope and outside under the stars, you will learn how to recognise star patterns and find out more about the mythologies behind them.

16th November. The debris left behind by the comet Tempel-Tuttle gives rise to the Leonids meteor shower. Join us for a warming curry and informative talk before heading out to try and spot some meteors (shooting stars). If the weather is good you will also have an opportunity to look through the historic telescopes, some of the largest working telescopes in the country.