A Visit to Jodrell Bank's Discovery Centre

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Jodrell Bank Visitor Centre website: http://www.jodrellbank.net/
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Hello! Fancy seeing you here on the internet... Searching for astronomy are you? Well you came to the right place.

I was lucky enough to attend a press day at Jodrell Bank Observatory in Cheshire to have a sneak peak of their new state of the art, three million pound discovery centre before it was formally opened to the public. Bringing along my trusty pocket camcorder, I prepared to boldly go where only a couple of journalists had been invited before...

Jodrell Bank has been putting British astronomy on the map since the 1940s, but this new centre marks a series of changes to the visitor dimension of the landmark observatory. There are two new buildings, the Planet Pavilion visitor centre and the Space Pavilion live science building which houses a multitude of hands on displays and exhibits.

Whether it be printing out a 30 second feed of data collected by the telescope or initiating the sound of the big bang at the press of the button, everything has been designed to educate children young and old about the day to day operations of a working observatory as well as the cosmic phenomena it observes. I speak to the centre's director Dr Teresa Anderson and Manchester University's Dr Tim O'Brien

This is only phase one of Jodrell Bank's regeneration, there is to be a live music event in July headlined by the Flaming Lips and supported by British Sea Power and OK Go. A space themed garden will also be opening up later on in the summer.

I would like to express my thanks to all the staff at Jodrell Bank for letting me run lose through their brand new buildings repeatedly hitting the big bang button and generally getting my grubby mits on the touch screen table.

Hit the LIKE button if the video agrees with you and if you want to SUBSCRIBE, then that would be just grand too.

Obviously, I do not own the rights to the 2001 space odyssey theme, nor for Pompeii am Gotterdammerung or Are You Some Kind of Hypnotist by The Flaming Lips. And definitely not in respect to the Doctor Who episode entitled Logopolis. So please do not sue me or stifle my rampant copyright infringing creativity : )

Category:

Science & Technology

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• Jodrell Bank Observatory
• Discovery Centre
• Science
• Space
• Astronomy
• Dr Tim O' Brien
• Dr Teresa Anderson
• ToBePhair
• To Be Phair
• Manchester University
• MERLIN
• Lovell telescope
• Mark 2 Telescope
• Sir Bernard Lovell
• the sound of the Big Bang
• Cosmic Rays
• Quasars
• Pulsars
• Supernova
• Black Holes
• meteorites
• Live at Jodrell Bank
• Brian Cox
• Doctor Who
• Moorlands Radio
• Tom Baker
• Stephen Moffat
• you need to get on this

[markashleyfilms]

Ah, some great memories of the day! You didn't get lynched by security, trying to reenact Baker's swan song, did you? :p

[ToBePhair]

@markashleyfilms I was lying on the grass for ages before they noticed me. But when they did eventually run up to me and ask me what I was doing, I did say the immortal lines and point to an imaginary version of the watcher. Then I got up and walked off of my own accord, but not before stapling a stick of celery to my chest. Ouch...

[hawkwinddave]

After 30 odd years wanting to get close to this telescope... I finally got my wish at Transmission 001. didn't get chance to pop into the visitors centre but I will be back. :)