Essential information
| Location | |
|---|---|
| Key Stage |
SEND
|
| Curriculum links | Art, Astronomy, Communication, History |
| Session dates | Fridays, 2 October, 11 December, 5 February, 30 April, 25 June |
| Price | £48 (up to 10 learners) |
Session overview
Aurora Days are specially designed sessions for groups with Special Educational Needs and/or Disabilities. You don’t have to be from a SEND school in order to access these sessions – if you feel your students' needs suit these sessions, you’re welcome to attend.
While you are of course welcome to visit at any time with SEND groups, Aurora Days are dedicated slots where the numbers of school groups on site is much more limited, and your group will be the only one in the workshop and planetarium show. This means that we can adjust content to suit your needs, dedicate more time to you answering your space questions and making your visit as enjoyable and easy as possible.
We ask that you book a maximum of around 10 students into an Aurora Day slot, to ensure that we adjust our content to suit individual needs, and to ensure that the site isn’t too crowded for groups that need a quieter environment. On the day you visit, there will be up to 1 other Aurora Day group on site, but you don’t share space with them during the day.
If you've attended before, you'll know that Aurora Days are usually based at the Royal Observatory. Due to an upcoming site regeneration project, the Aurora Day programme will be based at the National Maritime Museum in the 2026-2027 school year.
How does the day run?
Aurora Days are made up of the following components: a planetarium show, a self-guided activity, a lunch room slot and a workshop. You can choose whether to have just a Planetarium show or a full day!
Planetarium show: Window to the Universe
This show takes the audience on a tour of some of the most beautiful aspects of Space. It is presented live by one of our astronomers and runs at a much calmer pace than many of our other school shows.
As you’re the only group in the planetarium on Aurora days, you can enjoy the planetarium in whatever way suits you best. If students want to make noise or take a break during the show, that’s fine!
The lighting levels are higher for this show, so the planetarium never becomes pitch black, and the music and narration are kept to a minimum. We can also provide sensory supports for use in the planetarium. If your students have any questions about space, our astronomer will be there to answer them.
Workshop: Exploring the Seasons
Our interactive workshop takes place in one of our learning spaces and is designed to encourage active learning and hands-on scientific enquiry.
Exploring the seasons
This workshop encourages participants to get creative and crafty as they explore the seasons of the year. Inspired by drawings from a medieval almanac, we will think about what the different seasons mean to us today: what they feel like, what sorts of activities we tend to do, what the world around us looks like.
By the end, the group will have contributed to its very own almanac that explores the changing year. We can tailor the workshop to suit the needs of the group, and this workshop contains many opportunities for multisensory exploration.
Self-guided visit: Astronomers Take Over
Astronomers Take Over
Royal Observatory Greenwich is undergoing an astronomical transformation. While this is happening, the astronomers who work there have packed up and moved into the National Maritime Museum. This is your chance to meet the astronomers and ask them all the things you have always wanted to know about space. Be careful though – the crates contain mysteries to uncover. You never know what you might find.
What you will see
Astronomers Take Over is split into zones where you can meet the team, ask your questions and try your hand at some science demonstrations.
This includes:
- Learning about the Sun-Earth-Moon system and the reason for the seasons.
- Exploring features of Mars, the adventures of Martian rovers and the people involved.
- Discovering stars, galaxies and how big our Universe is.
- Completing a scavenger hunt for interesting objects astronauts have taken to space.
Your questions answered
- Students can take breaks whenever they need to.
- You can bring as many staff members as needed to appropriately support your students.
- You can book students of any age (KS1–KS5) into our Aurora Day slots.
- As the workshop and planetarium show are delivered live, we can alter the content to suit your students' needs.
- We have accessible parking and our learning spaces and planetarium are accessible to wheelchair users.
- There is a changing places facility inside the National Maritime Museum. There is another next to the Ignatius Sancho Cafe (within Greenwich Park).
- We have tactile resources available for students who are visually impaired.
- Hearing loops are fitted at all information desks and in the planetarium.
- We are happy to work with teachers or interpreters if your students use BSL or Makaton. A breakdown of our content can be provided in advance on request.
Find out more about accessibility at the National Maritime Museum