On a visit to view the Observatory and launch the virtual site in the Planetarium, Minister Campbell said: “The Armagh Observatory and Planetarium are first class attractions and educational facilities that Northern Ireland should be proud of.
“The Planetarium’s new virtual facilities will enable people to visit the Planetarium from anywhere in the world, allowing visitors to gain an impression of the layout and size of the Planetarium and of what they will see on a real visit.”
The site will specifically benefit children with special needs, especially children diagnosed with autism who find visiting new places very stressful. The virtual site will give these children the opportunity to familiarise themselves with the Planetarium before a visit which may result in a less stressful event for the children and their assistants.
Encouraging everyone to visit these unique and fascinating tourist attractions the minister concluded: “The Observatory is one of the oldest continually operating observatories in the world with around 25 astronomers currently actively studying stellar astrophysics, the sun, solar system astronomy, and the Earth's climate.”
“The Planetarium is an important educational resource with must-see shows for all the family and a marvellous array of images captured by deep space robotic probes and space telescopes.”
Notes to Editors:
- All media enquiries to DCAL Press Office on 028 9025 8902 or email press.office@dcalni.gov.uk
- Out of hours please contact the Duty Press Officer via pager number 07699 715440 and your call will be returned.
- To view the new online virtual site visit www.armaghplanet.com
- Pre-booking is essential: the general shows are not suitable for very young children, who can attend their own shows which are run at 1200 and 1600 at weekends.
