Big Telescopes for Small Astronomers

Gather family & friends and join us for an evening of discovery and space exploration. These events are suitable for all ages – with a family friendly atmosphere and plenty of fun to be had! Our team will show you the stars through our historic telescopes and a family planetarium experience.

Event tickets include a warm drink and a biscuit for children, and a hot drink for the grown ups.

Booking Essential

• Gates open at 5pm or 6pm depending on the time of year. Please check the timings when planning your visit. The evening is free flowing around the Centre.  There will be announcements throughout the evening to keep you informed about which telescopes are open and how to access them.  The indoor exhibits will be available to explore but it will be too dark for our outdoor exhibits.
• On arrival you can book in for your planetarium experience, these last about 20 minutes.
• Food and drinks will be available to purchase from our café.
• If the weather is not suitable to look through the telescopes (cloudy, rainy, foggy or if the wind is too strong), we do not cancel Stargazing Evenings.  Instead there will be opportunities to chat to astronomy experts and ask all your questions about our telescopes, space and astronomy.
• Don’t forget to wear warm clothing – you will be outside for much of the evening!
• Did you know? Using red rather than white light torches means your eyes are better adapted to see in the dark.  Our site is lit up with red lights during stargazing evenings. You can purchase a red light torch online or download an app such as NightVision Light in the Apple App Store.

Tickets are non refundable.