At ESMS, we are proud to offer our children the opportunity to join over 300 different clubs and societies across the schools. To help shine a light on just some of the extra-curricular activities on offer, we are delighted to be introducing a new monthly series which goes behind the scenes of a different Club each month to get to know more about their members and all of the fun activities they get up to.
This month, we were excited talk with SMC physics teacher Mr Balfour and technician Dr Liddle, to find out more about the Astronomy Club at SMC.
It’s a club, Jim, but not as we know it…
When does Astronomy Club meet? Monday lunchtimes (1:30-1:55pm).
How many members do you have? Usually around 25 boys join us.
How can children join? It is a drop-in session, so boys can just turn up on Mondays at 1:30pm in room 56.
What happens during an average meeting? We discuss all sorts of interesting new discoveries in our Club. We look at fascinating pictures of the cosmos and watch dynamic videos about space. Sometimes we might play games or do science-based quizzes, or the boys explore NASA based websites themselves.
What is one of your top highlights as a club? We normally have an observing outing in February where we take a group of boys out to East Lothian to stargaze with some experienced amateur astronomers as guides. This also includes a visit to the chip shop!
What are the goals of the club? Our main goal is to inspire the next generation of astronomers and to make it clear just how much there is yet to discover about the universe.
Thank you to the Astronomy Club for taking the time to catch up with us.
If your child is interested in joining, Mr Balfour and Dr Liddle look forward to meeting them at their next Monday lunchtime meeting. It’s a small step to join but it could be a giant leap for mankind!
