THE stargazers of Kelty's St Joseph Primary School could not have asked for a better night for their adventure.

Last Tuesday night staff at the Cocklaw Street school were joined by over 100 children, and their parents and carers, for a fun filled evening of stargazing and space activities.

Organiser, teacher Vanessa Anderson, could not believe how popular the event became and had to change the original plans to have two sessions to allow time for all that wanted to go along.

After a snowy start to the day the skies cleared and a cold but beautiful evening of stargazing was possible.

The event was organised to offer an activity based evening to St Joseph’s families that was a fun filled, shared learning experience for the children and their parents/carers.

Said Vanessa: "We wanted to offer an exciting event that not many of our children would have experienced before.

"The activities were all very interactive and things that could be continued at home using basic equipment and some simple technology available on tablets and phones".

There were a range of hands on STEM based activities available in the school from investigating how craters are formed on the moon, landing a Mars Rover (xbox game), creating constellation telescopes, straw rockets, tasting space food, and ICT based activities using merge cubes along with hot chocolate and toasting marsh mallows on the fire pit to keep everyone warm.

Added Vanessa: "Through these STEM events we want to spark enthusiasm and interest in STEM subjects and encourage our young people to take part in exciting learning opportunities and challenges.

"Stem Ambassador, Steven Gray, of Cosmos Planetarium, gave an introductory talk to the families about what they could see in the night sky and how to find it. "The Dalgety Bay Astronomy Society supported the event by bringing along their awesome telescopes and helping the children and their families look on in wonder at the stars and planets above us.

"Feedback gathered on the night was 'out of this world' and it was a joy to watch our children and their parents and carers learning and having fun together.

"The children had not left the building and they were asking when the next event would be and parents used words such as 'phenomenal' and 'amazing' to describe their evening.

"Special thanks must go to the people who supported the event, STEM Ambassadors Steve and Zoe, and the Dalgety Bay Astro Society.

"The evening was a resounding success and we are now looking to the future and the planning of our next exciting family STEM event. Watch this space!"