Techniquest - 'Mysterious Moon'

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The overall aims of this project are to:1. Develop a unique and engaging planetarium show for families and the general public which explores the science and history of the moon2. Widen both Techniquest and STFC's audiences by engaging people that have little prior experience of STEM (10% of overall beneficiaries)3. Build science capital for over 4,000 people by delivering a show to families that acts as a gateway into additional astronomy and STEM engagement opportuntiiesTechniquest has an excellent 32 year record of delivering interactive STEM engagement to the public in Wales and has developed hundreds of public engagements shows and projects in this time. With this project we would like to capitalise on the opportunity to engage new audiences with the upcoming 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission. We intend to link this show with special events held at Techniquest during the holidays and summer of 2019 which celebrate the anniversary and are aimed at encouraging visitors from local communities to access the centre. Science museums and discovery centres have been recognised as having a significant contribution to the science literacy. People who visit are statistically more likely to be science and technology literate than their peers. This makes it difficult to reach these audiences with new shows and programmes of activity. By utilising our planetarium and experienced programme development team to create a refreshed offer along with the draw of a very historic anniversary we are confident that we can engage new audiences for both Techniquest and STFC. Delivering this project to the general public during the summer and other holidays/weekends means that we have an opportunity to reach whole families rather than just young people and children. This will play a vital role in building the science capital of young people as the science capital of young people is intrinsically linked to that of their families. 'Mysterious Moon' will serve as a fun and interactive introduction to Astronomy but will also explore history and cutting edge science to deliver a unique learning experience for visitors. We believe that this project will encourage our audiences to continue to build their science capital by engaging with other extra-curricular Astronomy and STEM activities across the country such as 'Dark Sky Discovery', with a reserve nearby in the Brecon Beacons. Our audiences will also have the opportunity to learn more more by engaging with groups such as Cardiff Astronomical Society and the British Astronomical Association after the shows. We also intend to make an application for the moon rock and meteorite materials as part of the STFC's 'Borrow the Moon' initiative during 2019. This will hopefully become part of our supporting activities to accompany the show. Techniquest is currently undergoing an extensive refresh of both our in-house visitor & our school & communities' outreach offer as part of a broader re-positioning exercise in order to diversify our audiences. Our sweeping organisational culture change has resulted in a new approach to audience engagement and diversification. Our ultimate goal is to make Techniquest an inclusive space, stimulating the curiosity of individuals and communities who previously thought science irrelevant to them. This project is a timely opportunity to develop a fresh offering for our audiences. This project will continue to have a significant impact after the initial deliveries with the show continuing to be a part of our programme of planetarium shows for years to come as well as other science centres across the UK with our intention to share the show and its resources with other compatible planetaria via the ASDC (association for science and discovery centres) network. We will also have the opportunity to convert the show into a schools and community outreach show via our mobile planetarium, 'Starlab'.