A warm welcome in Bunessan

Despite the snow and freezing temperatures, we received a very warm welcome in Bunessan. We arrived the previous night following a 30 mile drive through the darkness and along single track icy roads. After a hearty breakfast at the local hotel, we unpacked and set-up before the 35 children arrived for school, some having arrived by boat from a small island off the coast of Mull. The focus of the morning was a detailed look at the Earth, Sun and Moon for the younger class (Bunessan Primary runs two classes), followed by an exciting tour of the solar system using our modified version of the Celestia software. The module ended with the pupils creating scale models of the planets using playdoh, and setting out the orbital distances using a till roll. The older group took part in the Stars and Constellations workshop module, which saw them creating their own planispheres from a template. The afternoon was mainly looking at the Nature of Light activity, which saw a range of fascinating demonstrations to show how astronomers use different kinds of light to learn more about the Universe in which we live.

After a busy school day, we had a well deserved break to explore the local village, and then back to the school to set-up for the evening community event, which the pupils decided should be a mini-science-expo at the school. Given that the snowfall and winds had increased steadily throughout the day, we half expected just a handful of people to brave the icy roads and freezing temperatures. In the end, we were totally amazed that 55 people arrived for the event, which saw pupils demonstrate some of the science they had seen during the day. Visitors were able to move from room to room to observe different aspects of science, and enjoy a cup of tea and cake into the bargain. All in all, a very successful visit, that was made all the more special by the hard work of the pupils and the wonderful support of the community.