Reach for the stars at Mooncamp Community Day this weekend in Wirral

Take a trip into space with Mooncamp Community Day at Wirral Country Park in Thurstaston this Saturday.

The free family day will allow kids of all ages to get hands-on with space-themed activities, workshops and demonstrations which will amaze and astound, including a live science show from Mark Thompson from BBC’s Stargazing Live.

Starting at 11am, some of the activities include a ‘walk the solar system’ physical workshop, a virtual reality experience and the chance to get among the stars with University of Liverpool’s Planetarium. There will be shadow puppetry performances from Occhiblu Theatre Company and a reading from Hilary Robinson, author of Jasper Space Dog. Children who are curious about space can Ask An Astronomer with Professor Andy Newsam from the National Schools’ Observatory.

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Also on offer throughout the day will be hands-on science activities with Eureka! – the children’s science museum in Halifax, which is due to open a second site in Wirral in 2022 and will inspire youngsters to get excited by science.

Mooncamp is produced by hi-impact consultancy, in collaboration with Wirral Council as part of Wirral’s year as Borough of Culture for the Liverpool City Region. The community day follows a two-day residential experience for local primary schoolchildren. Schools taking part were selected from hundreds of entries into a competition to design an astronaut space patch, run by hi-impact consultancy earlier this year. 

Simon Sloane, Operations Manager for hi-impact commented: “As part of Wirral’s Borough of Culture celebrations and its themes of discovery and exploration, we wanted to do something that was tied to the 50th anniversary of the moon landings and would reach not only local schools but also the wider community.

“Putting together a range of space-themed activities for the residential experience and community day has been so engaging for all our team and we cannot wait to see what the children and families get from it! One thing is for certain, the event will leave a lasting legacy for Wirral, the Borough of Culture.”

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Cllr Christine Spriggs, Cabinet Member for Culture and Tourism added: “Mooncamp is going to be a fantastic opportunity to get hands-on with science and ties in brilliantly with one of the main priorities for our Borough of Culture year, which is to inspire children and young people. The space theme leads us into the final chapter of our Borough of Culture programme which will also see Luke Jerram’s magnificent Museum of the Moon installation in Birkenhead Town Hall from the end of October.”

Mooncamp Community Day runs from 11am – 5pm on Saturday 5 October at Wirral Country Park in Thurstaston. Entry is free.

For more information on this event, click here.

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