Home Ed @ Bayfordbury

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

Set 1: age 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.

Tickets are £10

Parents and siblings are welcome to attend free of charge. Only children taking part in the activities require a ticket. Please note that each ticket includes one seat in the planetarium. Parents may accompany their child without a ticket, but the child will need to sit on the parent's lap during the planetarium show.

Block booking is available for Sessions 1-5 and Sessions 6-10 at a discounted rate of 10% off.

Session 6: Tuesday 13^th October 2026 – Space Rocks! - SOLD OUT

Session 7: Tuesday 27^th October 2026 -- Space Bugs! - SOLD OUT

Session 8: Tuesday 10^th November 2026 -- Mars - SOLD OUT

Session 9: Tuesday 24^th November 2026 -- Black Holes

Session 10: Tuesday 8^th December 2026 -- Hands-on Maths [new]

Set 2: age 8-11 years - Tuesday Afternoons

Families are welcome to attend and stay or learners can be dropped off and picked up at 3pm. There is a refectory-style room for parents, carers, and siblings 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.

Tickets are £12.50

Only children taking part in the activities require a ticket. Any children not taking part must be entertained away from the learners and will not be able to enter the planetarium without a ticket.

Block booking is available for Sessions 1-5 and Sessions 6-10 at a discounted rate of 10% off.

Session 4: Black Holes – 20th October 2026 - SOLD OUT

Session 5: Galaxies – 3rd November 2026 - SOLD OUT

Session 6: The Moon – 17th November 2026 - SOLD OUT

Session 7: Astrobiology – 1st December 2026

Session 8: Mars – 22nd December 2026 - SOLD OUT

Session 9: Dark Matter – 12th January 2027

Session 10: Hands-on Maths – 26th January 2027

Session 11: Rockets [NEW] - 9th February 2027

Set 2: Repeat - Friday Mornings

Only children taking part in the activities require a ticket. Any children not taking part must be entertained away from the learners and will not be able to enter the planetarium without a ticket.

Block booking is available for Sessions 2-6 and Sessions 7-11 at a discounted rate of 10% off.

Session 1: Introduction to Astronomy – 23rd October 2026

Session 2: Our Solar System – 6th November 2026

Session 3: Space Telescopes – 4th December 2026

Session 4: Black Holes – 8th January 2027

Session 5: Galaxies – 22nd January 2027

Session 6: The Moon – 5th February 2027

Session 7: Astrobiology – 12th February 2027

Session 8: Mars – 26th February 2027

Session 9: Dark Matter – 5th March 2027

Session 10: Hands-on Maths – 19th March 2027

Session 11: Rockets - 26th March 2027

Programme 3: ages 12-14 years

Coming Autumn 2026

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 educational.

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

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