Royal Observatory digital school sessions

In this highly interactive workshop, your class will be the only one in the session with our Astronomer. Each session ends with a segment for Q&A so there are plenty of opportunities to ask questions and discover new things. The workshops use a combination of sound, film, polls and activities to explain different scientific concepts. 

These sessions can be run on Zoom or Teams, whichever works better in your classroom. Cameras and microphones can be switched on for interactivity.

Materials for the workshop and joining instructions will be sent to the lead teacher up to a week before the session. 

You can select the session, which will take place from 12:45 - 13:30 on Tuesdays in term time.

Cost: £70 per class of up to 30 children

In this discounted workshop, multiple classes can join our astronomer for a workshop in a webinar style, and use a combination of sound, film, and polls to explore different scientific concepts. The session will be less interactive than the solo version, but students will still have the opportunity to respond to astronomer questions via polls and teachers will have the opportunity to send a question in advance from their class.

These sessions will run on Zoom, with cameras and microphones switched off for the duration of the workshop. Currently, we can only run Workshop Webinars for KS2 groups. 

Materials for the workshop, joining instructions, and a link to submit questions in advance will be sent to the lead teacher up to a week before the session.

Cost: £15 per class of up to 30 children

In this interactive digital session, students will: 

• Investigate the Sun, Earth and Moon System, including the similarities, differences and relative size and shape of these objects
• Understand how the motion of the Sun, Earth and Moon relates to the concept of time (day, month, year)
• Discover what astronomical phenomena occur as the Sun, Earth and Moon move in relation to each other 

The session finishes up with a question and answer segment so students have the opportunity to ask any questions they have. Post-session activities will also be supplied for your students to try afterwards and test what they have learned. 

Please note that this workshop is only available as a Workshop Webinar. 

What is inside our Solar System? In this interactive digital session, students will: 

• Learn about the eight planets of our Solar System, how big they are and what they’re made of.
• Explore how different objects in the Solar System move in relation to each other
• Discover the different types of space rocks found in our Solar System, including moons, dwarf planets and asteroids. 

The session finishes up with a question and answer segment so students have the opportunity to ask any questions they have. Post-session activities will also be supplied for your students to try afterwards and test what they have learned. 

How can we use the Sun to tell the time? And why isn’t it the same time all across the world? In this interactive digital session, students will: 

• Learn about how the Earth’s rotation explains day and night and the movement of the Sun across the sky.
• Identify the position and significance of key lines of longitude and latitude on the globe.
• Explore different time zones and how time varies around the world.  

The session finishes up with a question and answer segment so students have the opportunity to ask any questions they have. Post-session activities will also be supplied for your students to try afterwards and test what they have learned. 

What is inside our Solar System? In this interactive digital session, students will:

• Learn about the eight planets of our Solar System, how big they are and what they’re made of.
• Explore how different objects in the Solar System move in relation to each other
• Discover the different types of space rocks found in our Solar System, including moons, dwarf planets and asteroids. 

The session finishes up with a question and answer segment so students have the opportunity to ask any questions they have. Post-session activities will also be supplied for your students to try afterwards and test what they have learned. 

In this interactive digital session, students will: 

• Embark on a space mission where students become astronauts tasked with repairing their damaged spaceship!
• Discover important events in the history of space exploration from the first satellite, missions to the Moon, telescopes in space and more.
• Consider the future of space exploration . 

The session finishes up with a question and answer segment so students have the opportunity to ask any questions they have. Post-session activities will also be supplied for your students to try afterwards and test what they have learned. 

How can we use the Sun to tell the time? And why isn’t it the same time all across the world? In this interactive digital session, students will: 

• Learn about how the Earth’s rotation explains day and night and the movement of the Sun across the sky.
• Identify the position and significance of key lines of longitude and latitude on the globe.
• Explore different time zones and how time varies around the world.  

The session finishes up with a question and answer segment so students have the opportunity to ask any questions they have. Post-session activities will also be supplied for your students to try afterwards and test what they have learned. 

In this interactive digital session, students will:

• Discover the history of the Royal Observatory Greenwich, and what the first Astronomers Royal were hired to do
• Explore the wide range of different careers in the space sector today and how these impact the world around us

The session finishes up with a question-and-answer segment so students can ask any questions they have. 

What forces are involved in space travel? And how does gravity change in different space environments? 

 In this interactive digital session, students will:

• Learn the difference between mass and weight and look at what determines the strength of the force of gravity.
• Explore how gravity affects space exploration on the International Space Station, the Moon and Mars.
• Discuss some recent and upcoming Martian missions, and consider what’s next in space exploration. 

The session finishes up with a question and answer segment so students have the opportunity to ask any questions they have. Post-session activities will also be supplied for your students to try afterwards and test what they have learned.

Stars are born, live out their lives and die all throughout the universe, but what determines the path they take? 

In this interactive digital workshop, students will: 

• Learn about the fusion reactions that occur inside stars and how this leads to the equilibrium between expansion and gravitational collapse.
• Learn about the different life-cycles of sun-like stars and giant stars.
• Explore how data about stars is collected in space.

The session finishes up with a question-and-answer segment so students can ask any questions they have. Post-session activities will also be supplied for your students to try afterwards and test what they have learned.

How do we measure distances in space? 

 In this interactive digital session, students will:

• Learn about the methods used within the cosmic distance ladder.
• Explore the doppler effect on Earth and its application in space.
• Discuss the expansion of the Universe, along with what might happen next.

The session finishes up with a question-and-answer segment so students can ask any questions they have. Post-session activities will also be supplied for your students to try afterwards and test what they have learned.

In our workshops, one of our astronomers will take a look at some of the biggest topics in space science and astronomy. These curriculum-linked sessions include a number of interactive elements such as video clips and demonstrations to help explain some of the more challenging scientific concepts. 

Solo Workshops are charged at £70 for a group of up to 30 students and you will be the only class in the session. 

Workshop Webinars cost £15 for a group of up to 30 students and will be joined by classes from other schools.  

The sessions are run by our real astronomers so there is always an expert available to ask any questions. Our content is developed by the astronomy education team in collaboration with our teacher forum. All sessions are tested and evaluated with the teacher forum and also with school groups to ensure that the content developed is exactly what teachers are looking for and what students will thoroughly enjoy! 

Join our teacher's forum

Yes - LOTS. Royal Observatory Astronomers have been developing educational resources to support learning in the classroom from early years through to post 16. From animated videos, classroom activities and even movement podcasts, each resource has been designed around the national curriculum.
All astronomy and science resources | Royal Museums Greenwich 

On our website, you will also find information about our Teacher Forum and free teacher training sessions (both onsite and online), a growing collection of podcasts, blogs, and curriculum-linked classroom resources, as well as animated videos.

Get involved - blogs, podcasts and our Teacher's forum

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