Space 101 Day

Shetland UHI, in partnership with Saxavord UK Spaceport, are hosting the inaugural Shetland ‘Space 101 Day’ on Saturday 06 November.

Shetland Space 101 Day is an opportunity for people across Shetland, and beyond, to learn more about space and what it means for the Shetland community. Talks on a range of space-related topics will run throughout the day, streamed on Shetland UHI’s Facebook Live to allow interaction and to be accessible to as many members of the community as possible.

These talks, from both Shetland UHI academic staff and experts from further afield, will cover such diverse subjects as Astronomy, Archaeology, History and Rocketry and explore how developments in Unst fit into Shetland’s past and future. People tuning in to Shetland UHI’s Facebook Live will hear from the following speakers, among others:

• Dr Andrew Jennings, exploring how our ancestors looked at the stars with an introduction to Celtic and Nordic astronomy
• Dr Matjaz Vidmar, taking us through the essentials of stargazing with Astronomy 101
• Dr Simon Clarke, examining the history and heritage of the Saxavord spaceport site
• Dr Hina Khan, explains why space is such an important and growing part of the economy, with an introduction to everyday satellite usage

As well as the programme of talks, some activities will also be available at Shetland UHI’s Lerwick Campus, Gremista. Including:

• A virtual reality space experience
• Shetland’s Schools presenting their entries to Lockheed Martin’s recent competition to design a spaceport
• Displays of space art
• All of the planned talks available to view on big screens. 

Teas, coffees, breakfast rolls, snacks and lunches will be available between 10am and 3pm.

Professor Jane Lewis, Principal and CEO of Shetland UHI: “We are really looking forward to welcoming people online and in person to the first Space 101 Day. As the new college for Shetland, we are keen to play our part in inspiring the whole community to take an interest in space and the exciting opportunities offered by having a spaceport on our doorstep.”

Frank Strang, CEO of SaxaVord Spaceport, said: “Education and innovation are part of our company DNA, in line with the Shetland culture of lateral thinking and smart ideas. We have forged a number of important links with a variety of primary, secondary and tertiary institutions, including Shetland UHI, so we are naturally delighted to be supporting the Shetland Space 101 Day and hope that as many people as possible can participate to learn about this exciting and dynamic new sector that will become a fixture of Shetland life in the years ahead.”

Please note, COVID-19 restrictions will be in operation on campus. Visitors will be asked to wear masks at all times while indoors and to sign-in using a scanned QR code on arrival.

Further details will be available on the Shetland UHI website Events - Shetland Space 101 Day (uhi.ac.uk) and Shetland UHI Facebook page Shetland UHI | Facebook.