Short trip to Skye and Raasay

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With most schools just back from their Easter break, there was just enough time in April to squeeze in a two day trip to the Isle of Skye and Raasay. With both schools being relatively small, it only required one team member to undertake the visits, and so it was Chris that made the five hour drive up to and over the SKye bridge. The first day (25th April) saw him skirting moorland fires to reach the village of Dunvegan on the west coast of Skye. The 43 pupils of Dunvegan Primary were joined by the 7 pupils from nearby Edinbane Primary and together they enjoyed a variety of astronomy workshops, including gravity and Solar System. It was then time to head past the famous Cuillin Mountains for an overnight stop ahead of the first ferry to the island of Raasay, just off Skye. The island’s primary school had just 8 pupils, ranging from age 6 to 12, but all remained engaged throughout the day, and were full of interesting questions about space. It’s nice to be able to spend time getting to know children on an individual basis, and being able to see how they react to the content being presented – something that is hard to do in larger school groups. It was also interesting to note how 6 year old children were able to grasp some quite complex ideas around gravity and space-time. After a full day of activities, in which the pupils enthusiasm never flagged, there was a good hour available to explore a little of the island before the ferry back to Skye and then to embark on the 5 hour drive home.