Students at The Arnewood School in New MIlton were abl to handle moon rocks
Students at Arnewood School in New Milton had an out-of-this-world experience when they were able to handle moon rocks.
A consignment of lunar samples from the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) and National Space Academy was delivered in great secrecy.
Years 7 and 8 as well as students in the science clubs were able to handle these astonishingly rare minerals.
Due to the high value of the samples the school was unable to inform anyone about them until the week was over and they had been returned.
Head of Science Peter Grant said: “The moon rocks were collected on the Apollo missions in the late 1960s and early 1970s.
“It really was a wonderful experience for the students and staff to handle something from the moon – 238,855 miles away.
“They all came labelled and the batch included meteorites, one of which was a large, heavy iron one from Argentina that was very popular.
“The STFC has the moon rocks on loan from NASA and it’s hard to think of a teaching aid that is more inspiring.
“As well as rocks and meteorites the consignment included fossils and tektites, which are glass-like objects created when meteorites crash into earth.
“Examples the students were able to hold included orange soil collected by Apollo 17, and an ammonite fossil 65 million years old.
“I’m sure the week will have inspired some of our students to take science as a subject and we’re grateful for the loan of these highly-prized minerals.”
Headteacher Nigel Pressnell said: “This is a week that hundreds of our students will remember for a very long time.
“To handle a rock that has come from the moon is something most people will never be able to do.”
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