The Royal Observatory schools programme will begin in January 2026 due to the upcoming site regeneration project. Our brilliant Astronomy Education team will be working on an exciting refresh of our schools offer, and a temporary programme based at the National Maritime Museum.
For more information about our current offer, take a look at our main Schools page
To keep up to date on announcements and news, sign up to our Schools Newsletter.
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 you can be the only group in the planetarium during your visit, and the numbers of school groups on site is much more limited. 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 are now fully booked for the 2024/25 academic year.
Due to an upcoming site regeneration project, the Aurora Day programme will be paused until further notice.
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 3 other Aurora Day groups on site, but you don’t share space with them during the day.
We are continuing to develop our Aurora Day programme and have a SEND forum to help inform the programme. If you would like to help us develop this programme, please take a look at our website for more details, we would love to have you with us.
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 - Starry Skies
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. If your students have any questions about space, our astronomer will be there to answer them.
Planetarium Show - Audio Universe
Prepare to be transported inside a special spacecraft to the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope (VLT) to view the stars in the night sky, before lifting off into space to visit the Earth, Moon, Sun and all the planets of the Solar System.
Unlike traditional planetarium shows, in Audio Universe the soundtrack takes the lead role. Each of the objects in space are represented with sounds as well as being presented with incredible visuals. This means that this show is an immersive experience that can be enjoyed irrespective of level of vision. This show is a great option if some or all or your students are visually impaired, and can’t access a planetarium show that relies on imagery.
Workshop - Searching the Solar System
Our interactive workshop takes place in one of our learning spaces and is designed to encourage active learning and hands-on scientific enquiry.
Searching the Solar System
In this workshop, we explore the different planets in the solar system. We then focus on the similarities and differences between Earth and Mars using multi-sensory practical activities to help students learn more about some of their closest neighbours in space.
There are a number of different activities that can be done as part of this workshop, which means we can tailor this workshop to suit your needs.
Self-guided activity
In between your show and your workshop, we have time and space for your students to do a self-guided activity with your teaching staff. We provide the activity; your students provide the enthusiasm! The nature of the activity will depend on the needs of your students – our most common one involves ‘Packing for Mars’.
How to book
We are currently not taking bookings for our Aurora Day programme. Please see here for more information.
We also have a series of guides to the Observatory available to download which may help you plan your visit:
Your questions answered
- We have a quiet space available, and 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. Not all of our site is accessible unfortunately, more information is available on our Access page.
- The nearest changing places facilities are:
- Inside the National Maritime Museum.
- 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.
Please note: The Royal Observatory is unfortunately not currently best placed to cater for those with PMLD or similar needs. If your group has these needs, please take a look at the programme offered by our colleagues at the National Maritime Museum and the Queen's House.