In early March, we were excited to welcome the Moon Palace—a touring mobile observatory and art installation—to the University of Hertfordshire and Queen Mary University London as part of a wider public engagement project involving several university and community partners. 

The project brought together art and space science in a way that was designed to be accessible, informal, and open to a wide range of audiences. 

What is the Moon Palace? 

The Moon Palace is a converted school bus created by artists Heather Peak and Ivan Morison. It functions as both an artwork and a working observatory, with a telescope mounted on the roof and a carefully designed interior space intended to encourage conversation and reflection. 

Originally commissioned for LEEDS 2023, the project combines elements of astronomy, engineering, and creative practice. Rather than presenting science in a traditional format, it focuses on creating an environment where people can explore ideas about space in their own way. 

The visit to Hertfordshire and Queen Mary was the result of a year-long collaboration between the University of Hertfordshire, Queen Mary University of London, Durham University, and the University of Leeds. The project was made possible by funding from The Ogden Trust, and with additional input from local partners to make the audience experience truly memorable.  

Student ambassador training 

A key part of the project was a training session for student ambassadors from Hertfordshire and Queen Mary. 

The session focused on communication and engagement rather than subject knowledge. Activities encouraged participants to think about how people interpret information, how to adapt their communication style for different audiences, and how to create space for discussion rather than simply delivering explanations. 

Highlights 

On 6th–7th March the Moon Palace welcomed school groups and the public at Event Island in Stevenage. Alongside the bus, a range of related activities took place across the town, including a mobile planetarium, creative workshops, and science demonstrations delivered by partner organisations including Junction 7 Creatives, Mad Science and Airbus. 

On the 9th-10th March the Moon Palace arrived on campus at Queen Mary University. Event highlights included an evening with the London Moonsighters, where attendees came together for Iftar followed by spoken word poetry, a talk on the expanding universe and night-sky observing.  The following day saw visits to the bus from school groups plus a STEAM fair with interactive activities provided by Queen Mary staff and students. 

It has been wonderful to welcome the Moon Palace to two of our SEPnet partners. By combining art, science, and community participation, the project created an environment that encouraged curiosity for attendees and sharing and collaboration between universities. 

A huge thank you to everyone who made these events possible including staff, students, community partners, the East Leeds Project Team and the Ogden Trust! 

We were delighted to welcome partners and guests to this year’s SEPnet Public Engagement Awards, an evening dedicated to celebrating the creativity, dedication, and impact of physics outreach across the network. The event showcased an inspiring range of projects that bring research to life for schools, families, and communities, and highlighted the vital role of collaboration in widening participation in STEM.

Awards on the night recognised innovative hands-on engagement with complex physics, inclusive approaches to reaching new audiences, and outstanding strategic commitment to public engagement.

Our winners were:

• Dr Andrew Gow and Dr Wolfgang Enzi from the University of Portsmouth for their interactive gravitational lensing workshops

• Dr Ed Macaulay from Queen Mary University London for his wonderfully creative “A Bite of Space-Time” relativity outreach activity

• The Particle Physics Research Centre at Queen Mary University London for their excellent culture and support for participating in physics outreach

• The Institute of Cosmology and Gravitation at the University of Portsmouth for their long-standing leadership in embedding engagement across research culture.

• Curiosity Sussex, whose volunteer-led partnerships continue to deliver free, accessible STEM festivals and events for thousands of families in Brighton, Lewes and beyond.

The evening was a reminder of the passion, generosity, and imagination within the SEPnet community. We extend our warmest congratulations to all the award winners and nominees, and thank everyone who contributes year-round to making physics and astronomy accessible, inclusive, and inspiring.