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To the Moon and Back

NASA lunar rocks land at Deer Park School!

As part of the Space topic in Science, Year 7 pupils at Cirencester Deer Park School had an out of this world experience on Wednesday 15 May 2024 when they were able to see and handle rocks from the Moon, which came to Deer Park on loan from NASA, via the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) Science and Technology Facility Council (STFC), as part of their ‘Borrow the Moon’ programme.

The lunar rocks we had on loan were returned to Earth from two separate Apollo missions (we can’t say which!) and it was possible for members of the Deer Park community to handle them and look at them closely! The Apollo missions have returned more than 800 pounds of lunar rock and soil to Earth for analysis, most of which obviously is never seen by the public, so we feel very privileged to have had some pieces of the moon here in Cirencester!

These incredible rocks are scientifically irreplaceable and are important evidence of how the Moon was formed. On display we also had Martian meteorite as well as meteorites that were once the core of other planets; this loan collection was boosted by rocks and other artefacts from our resident lunar expert and Moon-obsessed Science teacher Miss Creed-Miles, who ran interactive sessions for Year 7. Pupils learned how to identify the unique ‘fingerprints’ that show how these samples could only have been formed in the vacuum of space.

to the moon and back

to the moon and back [Click and drag to move] to the moon and back [Click and drag to move] to the moon and back [Click and drag to move] [Click and drag to move] to the moon and back [Click and drag to move] to the moon and back [Click and drag to move] to the moon and back [Click and drag to move]

To the moon and back

to the moon and back

To the moon and back

Miss Creed-Miles’s Lego Apollo 11 rocket and lunar lander, plus moon books and pictures, helped pupils put the mission into perspective. Throughout the sessions, there was a lot of fascinating information shared, with pupils asking many insightful questions.

In our Science computer room, Year 7s could Google the Moon and Mars, and they will have further opportunity to investigate the Apollo Missions and meteorites in two associated special lessons, ‘Meteorite Hunters’ and ‘Moon Landing Evidence’.

We often talk about the special buzz of learning at Deer Park and this opportunity was organised for our Year 7 pupils by Science teacher Miss Creed-Miles, who met many NASA astronauts and scientists when she worked at the Natural History Museum in London, before she changed direction with her career and retrained as a teacher. Her enthusiasm for the subject is unparalleled! She says: “I think it so important for students to see the inspiration and dedication of the Apollo Missions, and I hope that by holding these incredible samples, and experiencing how they tell the story of the Universe, our Solar system, and our endeavours into space; that this will fuel their ambitions to aim high!“

Pupils and staff alike were amazed by seeing these off-world items in our Science Faculty, as these comments from Year 7 show:

'We think that the space rocks were fascinating and it's crazy to think that we have basically touched the moon.'

‘This is the best day ever!’

'I loved the lesson and I loved how I was holding rocks from space and how they were from NASA. It was amazing.'

'I loved looking at and feeling the space rocks. BEST LESSON EVER!'

'It was really interesting because if you kept looking at it, more detail would appear.'

'It was very fun and interesting to see and feel the weight and texture of the rocks.'

'I found the lesson very interesting and cool - the best Science lesson yet. I liked all the rocks best and it was a good experience. I enjoyed seeing the Lego rocket and I liked looking at Google Moon. My wow moment was seeing all the details on the craters. It was amazing, so thank you!!'

'I did have a wow moment when we held the mystery planet's inner core. The thing I liked best was the (Meteorite Iron) necklace. Thank you for showing the Space Rocks.'

'It was really cool, especially the moon rock. It was stellar - pun intended!'

'It was surreal how we were holding the Moon and Mars.'

'I think it was fantastic - we touched rocks that had come from the Apollo missions. I gasped in excitement!'

'We found it very exciting to see these once-in-a-lifetime items!'

'My favourite was the passing round of the meteor parts and testing how magnetic they were.'

'I loved this lesson. Truly one of the BEST LESSONS EVER.'

Dr Tipping, Head of Science commented: "We were delighted to be able to share these precious samples with a whole year group. Miss Creed-Miles explained the significance and context of the exhibits to every Year 7 class with unlimited enthusiasm for the whole day."

to the moon and back

To the moon and back

to the moon and back

To the moon and back

to the moon and back [Click and drag to move]

To the moon and back

In the week prior to the NASA rocks landing at Deer Park, Miss Creed-Miles delivered ‘To the Moon and Back' assemblies to pupils in Years 7-10, with an Apollo Missions theme, focusing our pupils' minds on being determined to succeed, no matter what. You may know the JFK quote from 1962: ‘We choose to... do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard’. With mission anecdotes and experiences from the Apollo program, Miss Creed-Miles talked about not giving up, working around problems and using each setback as a learning opportunity – to reach for the Moon (and back). Did you know that Neil Armstrong took hundreds of hours to learn how to fly the lunar lander, and crashed it 3 times, once so badly he had to eject… but if he hadn’t, the Apollo 11 mission would have failed 6 minutes from the Moon surface when the computers malfunctioned, but he flew in and landed manually. Most definitely reaping the reward of focusing on details.

Technology has improved exponentially since the first spacecraft – the Soviet Union’s Luna 2 - reached the lunar surface in 1959 and the first crewed landing in 1969 - the Lunar Module Eagle from the Apollo 11 mission. The 1960s were the first real era of space exploration, with 63 launches to the moon. We are in a new era of Space exploration - already in the 2020s there have already been 26 launches of orbiters or landers to the moon - with governments and commercial organisations across the world seeking to expand scientific and technical knowledge and capitalise on resources in space. These joint ventures aim to have humans return to the Moon in 2026, so watch this space (pun intended)!

We hope that this visit of spectacular lunar resources to Deer Park is the first of many, and that Deer Park pupils in other year groups will have the opportunity to experience this ‘wow!’ learning in the future.

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To the Moon and Back

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