The evening started with an introduction to Night Sky which was followed up with observing sessions. It was the first time for all the children and teachers to learn about the wonders of the night sky. They enjoyed identifying the constellations and the first glimpse of the deep sky objects through binoculars.
The next session was an introduction to the Solar System. Before the session, UNAWE Sri Lanka coordinator asked couple of questions to determine the knowledge level of the children. Majority was not aware of the number of planets in the Solar System or in proper order. Interestingly many thought Venus is a Star due to local word phrasing for the planet which gives the meaning as a Star.
After the tour around the Solar System, children enjoyed doing some activities such as astronomy words finding, colouring an astronaut and moon, and building a paper rocket. As the last session of the event, the cubs got to learn about rockets and space shuttles with some videos to explain them better.
At the end of the event, plans were made to do some follow up workshop series for students from grades 2 – 9 and also a teacher training program for teachers from several schools in the area.
