Over the years I have instigated and been involved with some large and exciting projects. \u00a0Here you can find a selection of them.<\/p>\n
Ambassador for Girlguiding North West England<\/a> (2025-): Invited to become an ambassador, visiting groups of Rainbows, Brownies, Guides and Rangers around the North West, delivering astronomy and space evenings with my Universe in a Box, small telescope, meteorite collection, and virtual planetarium! I also get involved with other events such as Voyage Under the Stars<\/a> virtual event, and the Adventures in the City weekend in Chester.<\/p>\n Zoom planetarium shows<\/a> (2021\/22): \u00a0Having visited (in person) a few Brownie groups in Cheshire to do astronomy and help girls earn their space badge since returning to the UK, during the 2021 January lockdown due to Covid-19 I started offering Zoom-based virtual planetarium shows to Brownie groups anywhere in the UK (here’s the press release<\/a>). \u00a0The project was a huge success, and is still running in 2022! \u00a0I was awarded the British Empire Medal<\/a> in the 2022 Queen’s Birthday Honours on the Platinum Jubilee for this project, in recognition of services to Girlguiding during the Covid-19 pandemic (UCLan press release<\/a>).<\/p>\n We Share the Same Moon<\/a>\u00a0(2019): a project carried out with storyteller Cassandra Wye during 2019 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 Moon landing. \u00a0We created a collection of creative and fun space-related and science-based activities linked to aspects of the primary science curriculum, together with a large collection of linked stories from many cultures. \u00a0These activities and stories were tested in schools in Lancashire, Cheshire and Bristol during 2019, and the activities remain available today for anyone to use.<\/p>\n The Story of Space<\/a>\u00a0(2017):\u00a0RAS-OAD astro4dev grant mobility funding to travel to the Story of Space festival in Goa in November 2017 and run Cycle the Solar System with artist Nick Sayers.<\/p>\n Royal Society Pairing Scheme<\/a> (2016): selected to spend a week in Westminster shadowing Conservative MP Chris Green (Bolton West) in the House of Commons, and organised a reciprocal visit to UCLan (here’s the press release<\/a>\u00a0about my trip to Westminster, and here’s the press release<\/a> about Chris’s visit to UCLan).<\/p>\n Macclesfield’s Barnaby Festival<\/a> (2016): the theme of the festival in 2016 was Space, and I was invited to join the live events committee to help plan the programme. \u00a0I helped to plan several events, including a live observing session in the Town Hall that ran over the main festival weekend, using LCOGT telescopes in Hawaii and Australia. \u00a0I also played in the parade with the local samba band!<\/p>\n Doctor Who and the Silver Spiral<\/a> (2010): In early 2010 I wrote a short Doctor Who story, based on the science behind a paper published in Nature. \u00a0The story received significant media attention from a variety of sources not normally known for their science reporting, and led to interviews on the Australian ABC’s StarStuff podcast, the DWO Whocast, and a dramatic production of the story<\/a> by Darker Projects.<\/p>\n Australian National Science Week<\/a> (2010): \u00a0I was PI of an Australian National Science Week project to build a travelling exhibition, “Tuning In”, to demonstrate radio astronomy in busy shopping centres and other venues during National Science Week 2010. \u00a0I led the construction of the telescopes for the project, and organised the tour itself.<\/p>\n Ilgarijiri<\/a> (2009): Whilst working at Curtin University in Australia I ran a programme of outreach visits to remote indigenous communities and schools in Western Australia. \u00a0In 2009 this included an International Year of Astronomy project linking astronomers with Aboriginal artists, involving a unique field trip to a remote observatory site and cultural exchange with a group of Aboriginal artists who created “Ilgarijiri”, an international exhibition of astronomically-themed Aboriginal art.<\/p>\n