
This summer sees the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission and, to celebrate Man’s fist steps on the Moon, there are plenty of out of this world events marking that “one small step… one giant leap’’ on 20 July 1969.
It’s a new moon in Derby…
Derby Cathedral
Free
https://www.visitderby.co.uk/whats-on/events/museum-of-the-moon
Derby Festé is set to take you to the moon and back this year. One of the UK’s biggest annual street-fest events, the 2019 two-day, city-wide festival has taken its inspiration from space, the moon and tides. Marking the Apollo 11 anniversary, and coinciding with a new moon on 28 September, it will feature a whole host of events, including a street parade of giant futuristic silver creatures. Setting the scene Derby Cathedral will host breathtaking attraction, ‘Museum of the Moon’ – a touring artwork by UK artist Luke Jerram featuring a seven metre diameter ‘Moon” with detailed NASA imagery of the lunar surface – from 16 September, and throughout Derby Festé.
Visit a medieval Cathedral, and walk on the Moon…
‘One Small Step’
Lichfield Cathedral, Staffordshire
20 July –25 September 2019
Free, but donations encouraged
www.lichfield-cathedral.org/journeys/one-small-step
Take “one small step” in Lichfield Cathedral and walk on the Moon’s surface while gazing at Earth and the Universe above. An installation artwork created by the Cathedral’s Artist in Residence, Peter Walker, it will give visitors an opportunity to take “one giant leap” when the magnificent tiled floor is transformed into a map of the moon, creating a lunar landscape. It forms part of ‘The Great Exhibition 2019; Space, God the Universe and Everything’ (selected evenings in August), which will use light and sound projections inspired by space and the planets. Visitors will be able to stand on the Moon’s surface and look back at the Earth, projected on to the nave ceiling along with the galaxies and universes. (The Great Exhibition: advance tickets £5 adults, £4 children).
Destination Space – Apollo
Winchester Science Centre, Hampshire
Selected dates 29 June – 21 July 2019
General admission: from £9 in advance, Destination Space included free
www.winchestersciencecentre.org
Winchester Science Centre, an interactive science and technology centre with the UK’s largest standalone planetarium, offers a chance to mark the anniversary with the Destination Space live science show and themed activities. Discover why and how humans travelled to the moon, as well as the immense challenges that were overcome to complete this incredible mission. Get hands-on with fun activities and challenges. Create your own astronaut pin badge, design and build a lunar buggy, sample the food eaten by real-life astronauts… and experience the smell and texture of the moon for yourself!
Watch a movie on the Moon!
Lichfield Cathedral, Staffordshire
Selected dates in August 2019
Advance tickets £5, or £7.50 on the door (subject to availability)
How about watching a movie while sitting on the Moon… in the UK’s only medieval three-spired Cathedral? Continuing the space theme from the “One Small Step’ installation, August’s film festival (5, 6, 7, 12, 13, 14, 19, 20, 21 August) means filmgoers can sit on the ‘Moon’ to watch movies that include First Man, Back to the Future and Apollo 13.
See an astronaut’s view from space…
‘Gaia’, an artwork by Luke Jerram
Peterborough Cathedral
19 August – 15 September 2019
Free entry during the day, from £2 for special evening viewings
Historic 900-year-old Peterborough Cathedral, in “Hidden England”, is making a name for itself when it comes to out of this world experiences. Last year it was the only non-museum to host a national tour of British astronaut Tim Peake’s Soyuz spacecraft – attracting more than 170,000 visitors, the second highest number at any of the eight tour venues. Now the Cathedral is offering visitors a chance to view our planet from space, thanks to a floating seven-metre diameter glowing ‘Earth’ featuring detailed NASA imagery. Gaia, by artist Luke Jerram – the artist behind last year’s popular ‘Moon at the Museum’ – aims to reflect the feelings astronauts describe when seeing Earth from space. It will be open to the public free of charge during normal Cathedral visiting times, while special evening openings will show the artwork in its full glory with an accompanying soundtrack (£2 per person; £6 for a family).