Winchester Science Centre and Planetarium Review
Saturday Night
at the Planetarium
www.winchestersciencecentre.org
Reviewed by Kerri Chard
I remember when Winchester Science Centre was known as Intech. Having attended Kings School on Romsey Road, Intech was only a stone’s throw away and a place that the school chose to visit regularly. The new centre on the outskirts of Winchester is much larger and as you walk up the drive towards the building you cannot miss the dome shape construction of the planetarium, a new addition since the relocation, which stands proudly against the skyline.
We were invited to attend the Winchester Science Centre to experience a special live presented show in the centre’s Planetarium. Part of the Winchester Science Centre’s After Dark themed evenings for adults only. There are various shows available to see, all of which are hour one long including an intimate Q&A session with the presenter. We attended an evening named ‘Cosmic Time Capsules’.
On arrival you will find plenty of free parking just a short walk from the centres entrance, and very welcoming, friendly staff. If you arrive early you can wander around the centres entrance foyer which offers comfortable seating as well as plays hosts to the gift shop. The gift shop is a collection of educational and wacky, fun toys all very reasonably priced (well worth a visit for Christmas stocking fillers for small and big kids alike!).
As the show was about to begin, we were ushered into the Planetarium; a large, impressive space with smart black reclined chairs perfectly positioned for optimum observation of the domes 360° screen so that you are not cricking your neck to see the show. The chairs are extremely comfortable and clean. The Planetarium is air conditioned which was a blessing on the day we attended when outside temperatures were up in the high 20s even in the late evening.
Our presenter introduced herself and then took her position at the back of the Planetarium so that we were left to immerse ourselves in the presentation. The presentation is absolutely mind blowing. You really have to see it to believe it. Using an accurate scale model based on data from various sources including NASA the presenter navigates a virtual universe in order to demonstrate various real time space travel scenarios and more whilst delivering a compelling and informative tutorial with passion and enviable knowledge. During our one hour presentation we discovered: the official difference between an Asteroid and a Comet; the oldest particle found in space and exactly how old it is; how planets and Asteroid belts form and behave; what is a dwarf planet, plus much more!
Without giving away too much content from the presentation, I was particularly engrossed by the information provided regarding a space mission happening right now, called the Rosetta Mission, which in short is the intention to land on and ride a comet. It is absolutely fascinating to see how this can be accomplished and incredulous to realise even that these sorts of missions are taking place right now. It will take 10 years for the spacecraft to reach the target comet, but as it set off in 2004, it is expected to send down the research lander on the 11th November this year. You can follow the Rosetta Mission online and it has recently been talked about in the News.
We also learnt that it is worth watching the skies between the 11-13th August as a vivid shooting star display will occur. The Perseid meteor shower is one of the brighter meteor showers of the year. (Shooting stars are made when small pieces of rock fall down to Earth from space. There are more at this time of year as the Earth moves through a trail of debris left by comet Swift-Tuttle). I am sure the presentation would be consistently updated with new and exciting events for stargazers to set their sights on.
The Cosmic Time Capsules presentation was followed by a 20 minute Full Dome film called Cell, Cell, Cell (this is an optional extra). We felt as though a more adult friendly film would be more suitable for an adult only event, but that said, we did enjoy the immersive experience of seeing a film on the full dome and would highly recommend this for children at a day time showing. The film plot, albeit based around two animated characters which most adults will find unnecessary, is very informative and certainly a good refresher course in some basic human biology which parents with young children will find extremely useful if they want to swat up in order to help out with homework. Be warned, it you are easily seasick then some of the fast moving footage may leave you feeling a little queasy.
If an educational, highly informative Saturday night out is your cup of tea then the Winchester Science Centre and Planetarium is a wonderful place to visit. The prices are extremely reasonable and the experience of the 360° dome unforgettable. Our only quibble is that the science centre’s activities weren’t open as we would have liked to have taken the opportunity to make a longer evening of our visit and had a chance to ‘play’ with the experiments in the adult only environment that the Saturday Night at The Planetarium offers.
Rating: 4/5
After Dark (Adults Only) Admission Price: £10.00
For upcoming event dates please check the What’s On section of the Science Centre website.
Fact Box:
Winchester Science Centre & Planetarium, previously INTECH Science Centre is a unique, exciting interactive centre administered by the educational charity, The Hampshire Technology Centre Trust Ltd, with the specific purpose of promoting the knowledge and understanding of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).
Standard daytime Planetarium shows can be booked separately from the exhibition. Planetarium tickets are £5 per seat, or just +£2.20 in addition to main exhibition entry. The Astrium Planetarium hosts various shows regularly throughout the day
The Planetarium also offers Chatterbox showings where chatting and calling out is allowed. These are recommended especially for younger children or anyone else unable to sit quietly.
For more information visit www.winchestersciencecentre.org.
Telegraph Way, Morn Hill, Winchester, Hampshire SO21 1HZ | 01962 863791
