Home Ed @ Bayfordbury

Home Ed @ Bayfordbury is our set of programmes to support Home Educators with Astronomy and Space studies. Leaners are welcome to attend any number of events and can start anywhere.

The following programmes will be released in June 2026.

• Programme 1: ages 4-7 years.

Families are welcome to attend and stay with the learners. Activities include planetarium shows, exploring telescopes, and lots of creating, exploring and fun! These sessions are aimed towards Reception, Year 1, and Year 2 or ages 4-7 but all learners are welcome.

• Programme 2: ages 8-11 years

Families are welcome to attend or learners can be dropped off and picked up at the end of the session, there is also a refectory-style room for parents and carers to wait where coffee and tea are provided. Activities will be varied and hands on. These sessions are aimed at Years 3 - 6 or ages 8-11 but all learners are welcome.

• Programme 3: ages 12-14 years

Families are welcome to attend or learners can be dropped off and picked up at the end of the session, there is also a refectory-style room for parents and carers to wait where coffee and tea are provided. Activities will be varied and more in depth than programmes 1 and 2. Extention activities will be offered to faster learners.

Please contact events coordinator Mily Riley at astro-events@herts.ac.uk with any queries.

Tickets

New programme ticket costs will be released in May 2026.

Please note, each ticket entitles the purchaser to 1 space in the planetarium. This can be either child alone, or child on adult lap. If more spaces are required, either for adult/child to sit separately, or for a younger sibling, the corresponding number of tickets need to be purchased.

Upcoming sessions

New programmes will be released in May 2026.

FAQ

• Are you following a specific curriculum?

- We do not follow any curriculum. These sessions are to support astronomy education.

• Can I bring a child outside of the age range listed?

- While these sessions are labelled as aimed towards certain ages, we understand that some children work at an ability which differs to age boundaries so please use your judgement on which programme would be best for them.

• Can I bring a younger sibling?

- Parents can bring along any siblings but will need to provide them with entertainment for the duration of the session so the learners are not disrupted.

• Will you release any higher level sessions?

- We are currently looking into a programme of sessions related to the GCSE Astronomy curriculum. If you are interested in this type of session, please let us know at astro-events@herts.ac.uk