Stars in their eyes

from Life Magazines (Hertfordshire editions) May 2023

WINDOWS & DOORS

By Emma Gray, Head at St Margaret’s Junior School in Hertfordshire

Enriching children’s learning experiences in school is vital in helping them to thrive academically and develop emotionally as well-rounded and resilient individuals. While drama, music and art have traditionally been the foundations for encouraging children’s creativity, one activity that is growing in momentum in prep schools is astronomy, and in particular stargazing. The desire to look up and to learn more about the skies that look down upon us, has led to schools like mine, creating opportunities for children to stargaze and learn more about the universe around them. Participating in astronomy-based activities like stargazing will help to foster an interest in science, but there is more to it than that. Stargazing encourages children to use their imagination, to question the how and the why of everything around them and it can even lead to exciting discussions like evolution and the power of gravity.

Children are naturally inquisitive, so having access to telescopes to widen their understanding of the skies and to better understand our own solar system, helps them to develop their own verbal reasoning and logic as well as their vocabulary and literacy. At the moment we are providing stargazing across all prep school year groups as part of STEM education, and we are even bringing astronomy into our nursery and up to pre-prep in Year 2. Children are never too young to enjoy the awe and wonder of space. Looking up at the night sky can help to boost emotional development in young children, improving their independence, patience and their self-esteem. It can also help to improve concentration and focus as they learn to observe quietly, taking time and space to contemplate the world around them. Using special equipment like telescopes to stargaze, also pulls children away from computer screens, bringing them back to the natural world, as well as helping them to improve their fine motor skills and hand-eye cooordination. stmargarets-school.org.uk

Making stargazing accessible to younger children enriches their learning opportunities and you don’t even need a telescope. Learning can be supported through modern technology and special apps which help make it appealing to a wider audience. As well as looking at stargazing at an integral part of the STEM curriculum, some schools like mine, are also developing new co-curricular programmes with stargazing and astronomy clubs. Due to the popularity of stargazing in the prep school, we are also very excited to be opening our very own school observatory in 2023. The night sky may be vaster than we could ever imagine, but so is our children’s thirst for knowledge.

Hello, we’re St Margaret’s, it’s nice to meet you.