A chilled-out afternoon at Derbyshire Eco Centre

Offering a chilled-out afternoon and a break from the heatwave in the shade of Derbyshire Eco Centre on a glorious Saturday event organised by Derbyshire Virtual School, two of the Stars and Stories project storytellers experienced the first chance to share their stories to a friendly audience as part of an afternoon's mini festival. Groups of foster families and children in care also enjoyed wonderful stories from Rachel Murray, and gamelan music from Baby People helped to create a spontaneous sound version of the Big Bang! Our 'night sky', created by using star projection in a blackout tent allowed for a very special guided stargazing session peppered by stories from Emma, Rachel, astronomer Nick Spall and Project Coordinator, Jan Reynolds. And alongside this, Nick Spall demonstrated a safe way to look at the sun - please don’t try this at home as we had specialist equipment! Throughout July and August, there will be more stargazing and storytelling opportunities, as members of the project group develop their performance with storyteller, Maria Whatton which you can enjoy for FREE at the StarDisc on Saturday 15th Sept from 7.30pm as part of Wirksworth Festival. And why not experience stargazing for yourself with our sessions both before and after the performance (as long as the weather is fine)? There's no need to book, but make sure you get the date in your diary, it’s free and suitable for all ages!

The Stars and Stories project has been made possible through partnership between Derbyshire Virtual School and Adverse Camber, with significant funding from Arts Council England as well as Cooperative Community Dividend Fund, the Royal Astronomical Society, Tesco’s Bags of Help, Scopes4SEN, Foundation Derbyshire, Walbrook Trust, William and Griselda Kerr Fund and the National Space Centre. Find out more about the project on our website here.