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It was an early start on the Isle of Gigha in order to catch the ferry back to the mainland. At short five minute drive from the ferry terminal saw us at Rhunahaorine Primary School on the Kintyre peninsular. AFter setting up amongst some very inquisitive youngsters, we started the day off with a look at the Earth, Sun and Moon. Much of it would be new to P1-3, whilst the module acts as a good recap for older pupils. After a muddy break, we continued with a tour of the Solar System, followed by the hands-on play-doh planets activity. A bit rushed, but we soon had planets appearing on our orbital markers. The pupils all seem surprised to find out how close the four rocky planets orbit around the Sun, compared to the outer gas giants. After lunch we had pupils learning about and then searching for asteroids. There’s no doubt that most kids in primary school these days feel comfortable with learning new software, so they all managed really well with this module.

Mid-afternoon, saw our first delivery of the Modern Telescopes talk, which introduced pupils to some of the more advanced telescopes being used by professional astronomers these days. It’s exciting to think that some of these children may well be helping to build the next generation of telescopes and instruments in a decade or two. We finished the day with the Nature of Light module, which is fast becoming a favourite due to the bunch of fun light demonstrations. With new knowledge on board, the children then made there way home, and the AfRIS team beat a retreat from Kintyre, although I suspect we will be back next year.