Blast off for Hockwold space museum

Sarah Wade PRIMARY school children in Hockwold have launched Norfolk's newest visitor attraction - their very own space museum.

Sarah Wade

PRIMARY school children in Hockwold have launched Norfolk's newest visitor attraction - their very own space museum.

After weeks of research, planning, design and organisation, the children in Year Six (aged 10 and 11) have finally opened the doors of their museum to the public, with the help of Katrina Siliprandi, head of learning and cccess for Norfolk Museum Service.

Hockwold Primary School is one of 49 Norfolk schools working in partnership with Norfolk and Norwich Festival this year on Creative Partnerships projects in their schools. Creative Partnerships is the Government's flagship creative learning programme for schools across England.

The concept for the museum came following a trip by a group of Year Six children to the National Space Centre in Leicester. The aim of the project was to allow participating children to think about the theme of 'space' in as broad a way as possible and then develop their own interests and share them with others.

Over the past term, the children have worked across the curriculum using elements of maths, science, design technology (DT) and literacy in terms of weights, angles, measuring as well as electronics, information communications technology (ICT), film making, biology, geology, gravity, landscapes, story-writing and construction.

Teacher and Creative Partnerships co-ordinator at the school, Emma Owner said: “One boy who designed a rocket that launches into the air using new physics concepts he has learnt commented that this is the 'most fun' he has ever had!

“The children have worked together to agree how they want the museum to look and feel and how they want to share what they have learnt with their local community. Needless to say, they have come up with some ingenious solutions.”