Royal Observatory onsite school sessions

For early years and primary groups we offer a Discovery Day or a Space Spectacular Day. These Days consist of: a planetarium show, an interactive workshop, a self-facilitated astronomy activity, a self-facilitated visit to the historic north site, and a time slot in the lunch room.

Discovery Days and Space Spectacular Days run on select days during the academic year - please consult the primary programme guide to see what dates are available before booking your session.

For descriptions and details of the workshops, Planetarium shows and programmes we offer, take a look at our handy guide:

The cost of a Discovery Day is £160 for 30 students and includes a: planetarium show, workshop, and self-facilitated astronomy activity. Individually, a planetarium show is £100 for 30 students.

EYFS group visits: Discovery Days are only available for groups aged 3 and above. If you would like to bring a group consisting of children aged 2 and under, we recommend a Planetarium only visit. 

For KS3, KS4 and Post-16 we offer a Study Day or a Space Spectacular Day (KS3 only). Depending on which you choose your visit can be made of: a planetarium show, an interactive workshop, a self-facilitated astronomy activity, a self-facilitated visit to the historic north site, and a time-slot in the lunch room. 

Study Days and Space Spectacular Days run on select days during the academic year - please consult the secondary programme guide to see what dates are available before booking your session.

For descriptions and details of the workshops, Planetarium shows and programmes we offer, take a look at our handy guide

The cost of a Study Day is £160 for 30 students and includes a: planetarium show, workshop, and self-facilitated astronomy activity. Individually, a planetarium show is £100 for 30 students.

We offer Aurora Days for groups with special educational needs, which include a planetarium show, a workshop, a self-directed astronomy activity, a self-facilitated visit to the historic north site, and a time slot in the lunch room. These days are specifically designed with SEND in mind, so activities can be reduced to allow for a more relaxed and tailored visit.

For more information about our SEND sessions and to book, see our dedicated page:

Aurora Days - SEND school sessions

If you are preparing for a visit, we also have a visual guide to the Observatory available for you to download. 

The charge for an Aurora Day (limited to a group of 10 students maximum) is £48. You can also book for a Planetarium only visit, charged at £30 for up to 10 students.

If you would like to speak to a member of staff regarding your group, contact us on ROGEducation@rmg.co.uk.

Home education groups are welcome to take part in the schools' programme. You can book into one of our Discovery Days or for a Planetarium show only visit, whichever suits your group and schedule. 

If you would like a workshop, depending on the ages within the group, we may recommend one of our curriculum-linked workshops, or if there is a mixture of ages, we may recommend our Ask an Astronomer session. You can see what sessions we offer in the Primary and Secondary programme guides linked below. 

Onsite sessions are charged at the same rates as those advertised for schools, with a maximum number of 30 learners (inclusive of all accompanying adults and siblings) per session. The minimum group size is 15 people. 

Family groups: If you wish to visit as a family group, we also offer Planetarium-only visits to one of our Schools' Planetarium shows. These are for groups of up to 7 people (including children and adults) and cost £25. These shows take place at 10:30, 11:30, 12:45 and 13:45 during term time. 

We are unable to host international students within our schools programme. Please take a look at our Groups and Travel Trade page for help with arranging a visit. 

We have created a handy document that lists our session start times. Whether you're looking for a jam-packed day, or just a planetarium show, you'll find all the session start times in this document.

Discovery Days are full-day visits to the Royal Observatory, giving you the opportunity to have sessions delivered by our astronomers and explore the historical site. 

• A Planetarium show
• A workshop 
• A self-facilitated astronomy activity
• Use of the lunchroom
• A self-guided visit to the historic north site

Here is an example schedule of a Discovery Day:

Our Visitor and Sales Team will be on-hand to guide you around the site during your visit. 

Study Days are full-day visits to the Royal Observatory, giving you the opportunity to have sessions delivered by our astronomers and explore the historical site. 

• A Planetarium show
• A workshop 
• A self-facilitated astronomy activity
• Use of the lunchroom
• A self-guided visit to the historic north site

Here is an example schedule of a Discovery Day:

Our Visitor and Sales Team will be on-hand to guide you around the site during your visit. 

Space Spectacular weeks are very special as they only run 3 times a year so you will need to book fast! Visits during Space Spectacular weeks consist of: a planetarium show (Final Frontier or We Are Guardians), a demo-filled workshop (Space Watch for KS2 and  Exploring Ocean Worlds for KS3), a lunch room slot and a self-facilitated astronomy activity.

Think of our planetarium as a tour bus of the Universe taking you on amazing journeys to explore and experience the wonders of the night sky. Combining real images from spacecraft and telescopes with advanced CGI, all projected onto a fully immersive dome, the planetarium can fly you into the heart of the Sun, transport you to distant galaxies, show you the birth of a star or even land you on Mars.

The astronomer-led workshops are very interactive and give plenty of opportunities to ask questions and discover new things. The workshops use a combination of sound, film, demonstrations and group activities to explain different scientific concepts.

If a Discovery Day, Study Day or Space Spectacular Day still doesn’t satisfy your scientific appetite, you can also visit our temporary exhibitions gallery and use our trails and visit guides for those doing self-guided sessions.

FREE downloadable trails and visit guides

If we haven't been able to answer your question here, please get in touch with us on ROGEducation@rmg.co.uk.