Welcome

Spectacular hands-on science and discovery among the domes and telescopes of a world famous astronomical observatory.

We look forward to welcoming you through 2017......

Thank you for supporting us!

We are delighted to announce our Spectacular Summer programme with activities for everyone.

The summer show will be 'Changing World' and launches Friday 21st July.
There will normally be daily Science Show presentations and Telescope Tours, alongside the interactive hands-on exhibits.  Please call in advance to check dates / times of any of our summer activities.

'Changing World'
What is Change? .....from the birth of the Earth: a journey exploring the natural changes of our dynamic Earth through time including demos of continental drift, tectonic plates, volcanoes, mountain ranges and earthquakes.
The journey continues to consider the impacts humans have made to climate change and extreme weather including demos of thunder, lightning and fire tornados.

What are the consequences of human development and technological change and how does our modern lifestyle impact on our planet?

What small steps can we take to make a positive change?


PLUS throughout the summer there will be 'pop-ups' with our ECO-ZONE and INFLATABLE PLANETARIUM (small additional charge)

PERSEIDS Open Evening 11th August 8 pm - 12.30 am
Normal admission prices apply

PERSEIDS Shooting Stars 12th August 8 pm - 12.30 am  £22 pp.       PRE-BOOOKING ESSENTIAL for this very popular summer event

Plus fantastic workshops throughout the summer where you can drop-off the children. Pre-booking essential....we are taking bookings NOW so please book early for any of the following:

25th July 'Mechanics & Drivers' NEW 
Age 6 - 8: 10.30 am - 1 pm
Age 9 - 11: 2 pm - 4.30pm

26th July ‘Noisy Nature’ 
Age 6 - 8: 10.30 - 1 pm OR 2 pm - 4.30 pm 

27th July ‘Wonderful Weather ’
Age 6 – 8 10.30 am– 1 pm OR 2 pm – 4.30 pm

1st or 2nd August ‘Cool Chemistry’ 
Age 6 – 8: 10.30 am – 4 pm

3rd August ‘Captivating Chemistry’ 
Age 9 - 11: 10.30am -4 pm

8th August ‘ Be an Astronaut’
Age 6 - 8: 10.30 am– 1 pm OR 2 pm – 4.30 pm

9th August ‘Wonder of Colour’ 
Age 6 – 8: 10.30 am – 1 pm OR 2 pm - 4.30 pm

10th August ‘Family of the Sun’ 
Age 6 – 8 10.30 am – 1 pm OR 2 pm – 4.30 pm

15th August ‘Rocketry’ 
Age 6 – 8 10.30 am – 1 pm OR 2 pm - 4.30 pm

16th August ‘Electrifying Electronics'
Age 9 - 11: 10.30am - 1pm OR 2pm - 4.30pm

17th August ‘K’Nex Construction’
Age 6 – 8: 10.30 am– 1pm OR 2pm - 4.30pm

Pre-booking ESSENTIAL for all workshops which may be cancelled if there are less than 6 children booked.  Please note: the cost of the workshop does NOT include entry into the science centre, however we now offer £5 pp. admission to The Centre if booked at the same time as the workshop.

It was lovely to meet so many of the 9,000 young people and teachers that participated in this fantastic event at the South of England showground, delivered by STEM Sussex.
The Big Bang South East is part of The Big Bang Near me, a programme of events which take place across the UK to enable young people to discover, close to home, the exciting and rewarding science and engineering careers that their science and maths subjects can lead to. 

Were you there?
Did you guess how many lids we had recycled?
Did you hold the whole world in your hands?

Check the photo gallery...

We are proud to present our beautiful new large scale Orrery! This fantastic addition to the Spectacular Science exhibits is located in the Domes of Discovery exhibition in Dome F. The Orrery shows the movements of the planets and our Moon around the Sun giving you a fantastic insight into why we can see planets at different times as the years progress.

In addition we now have a Lithophone. This fantastic musical instrument is an octave made of stone. Come and try it for yourself and see what tunes you can play.