Recently we have gone to see different places as a result of the "Units of Study" the girls are engaged in at school. Last year we went to visit Lanyon Homestead during one of Eliza's units of study. This term Eliza has a unit of study called "Earth's position in space and how it impacts upon living things". With this in mind, I thought we would go to the Planetarium in Dickson, but I searched in vain on the web for some information about it, and came to the conclusion that it must not exist anymore. During my searches though, I did come across Canberra's Deep Space Communications Complex (CDSCC), so this is where we decided to spend our Sunday.
The Canberra Deep Space Communication Complex is also known as Tidbinbilla Tracking Station, and it was opened in 1965. It actually forms part of NASA's Deep Space Network - which also includes a site in California and one in Madrid, Spain (all 120 degrees apart around the world). The Canberra site basically helps NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) by providing two-way radio contact with robotic spacecraft (like the Mars Rovers) and space telescopes, which are exploring our solar system and beyond. So the Canberra Site essentially consists of some massive radio antennae, including the largest one - Deep Space 43 (which is bigger than the one at Parkes - which is now not operational).
The CDSCC is about one hour from our place. Essentially you drive to the Cotter Road (near Weston Creek), and then drive along the Cotter Road until you get to the sign that tells you to turn left into the CDSCC site. The road is a little windy (so the girls were feeling a little green by the time they got there).
So what do you do once you get there?
1. You can have lunch or grab a bite to eat at the Moon Rock Cafe:
They had some really nice burgers (the patties looked and tasted like they were homemade), I had the homemade lasagna, which was tasty. Along with the lunch foods, you can also buy cakes, scones, tea and coffee.
2. You can go into the education centre to check out the displays. Beware! Lots of reading, but some interesting facts to be read about if you read the information plates. The displays include models of the Mars Rover, the Radio Antennae, the planets, space suits, space food and more.
3. You can sit and watch a film which plays on loop - mainly about the Moon and Mars and our findings.
4. You can play on the interactive displays, there are only about three or four of these, but the girls enjoyed playing on these. LOL - we all lined up to get our pictures taken in the space suit:
5. You can view Deep Space 43, and the other Radio Antennae from a distance:
So all-in-all it was a nice day, worth visiting if your kids that enjoy educational experiences. If they get bored quickly - perhaps I'd rethink a visit, but my girls enjoyed themselves and learnt a couple of interesting things during the day. The only thing I would say is that they would probably benefit from a few more interactive displays - as the ones that were provided were interesting.
On the way home we decided to stop off at Cotter. There is a lovely picnic area there, but our main reason for stopping was to see if we could see the Cotter Dam. The new Cotter Dam project finished last year, and as far as we could see, you can see the dam wall. I'm not sure if you can go near the top of the wall and peek over, and we weren't too keen to do the walking track with Dave not in any condition to walk far at all.
A little further along you can also visit Cassarina Sands (not sure I have spelt it correctly) where I believe you can swim - and it also has picnic spots. We may come back here one day when Dave is better.
Also on the way back towards Weston Creek you can stop in an see the Mount Stromlo Observatory. The site was devastated by the bushfires in 2003, so nowadays I don't think there is much to see, apart from the outside husk of one of the telescopes, and the Scope Cafe and Function Centre. You do get some pretty spectacular views from Mt Stromlo - so we might keep it in mind for a brunch or lunch one day. I believe you can also go on organised walking tours which run on specific dates.
Of course, when they saw this on the side of the Scope building the girls insisted on getting a picture taken (complete with poses of course!).
All in all a lovely day out.
One of Jazz's units of work this year will be on Government, so I can foresee a trip to the New Parliament House in our future some time.
Di :-)
