Sydney’s bit of World Space Week

The United Nations World Space Week celebrates the “contributions of space science and technology to the betterment of the human condition”. Although it’s a major international event there’s not a lot going on here in Sydney. In fact the only events I’ve come across are at the Powerhouse this coming weekend.

The Powerhouse has a range of activities, aimed at kids aged 6 and up, based around their space exhibition. The activities include the Silent Space Exhibition Tour: “Join your virtual Space Commander for a unique 30 minute family tour of the Space exhibition – wearing a pair of headphones!” (which has to be a perfect example of the use of an exclamation mark in desperation). There are also demonstrations of the Mars rover and satellite launching.

The bit that looks far more interesting to me are the series of talks aimed at slightly older children. There’s a chance to ask questions of the Museum’s Curator of Space Technology, who will also be giving a presentation on the story of space tracking stations in Australia. And our own local Mars expert, Dr Graziella Caprarelli, talks about some of the methods scientists use to explore Mars and formulate ideas about its formation and evolution.

For the full program details and booking see the Powerhouse Museum’s Play website.