Museum of the Moon, UK-wide

Seven metres in diameter, artist Luke Jerram’s spherical, internally lit lunar sculpture features detailed imagery of the moon’s surface from Nasa – each centimetre of the artwork representing about 5km of the moon. It was inspired by Bristolian Jerram noticing the huge tidal variation as he cycled over the Avon Cut each day. Accompanying the touring artwork is a surround-sound composition by Dan Jones (who has worked on musical scores for theatre, film and TV, including David Attenborough’s The Life of Mammals). Several moons are simultaneously touring the UK (including Dorchester, Armagh, Birmingham, Wakefield, Warrington and Derby), and beyond, installed at indoor and outdoor sites until the end of the year, with most venues organising an events programme alongside.
• Various dates and venues, free, my-moon.org

Summer in Southside, Birmingham

The streets of Birmingham’s Southside are set to be invaded by alien-themed performances and lunar-related installations. The city-centre event, close to the Hippodrome theatre, will include live shows from audio-visual electronic duo Addictive TV, physical theatre group Ljud, aerial acrobats the Dream Engine, Motionhouse dance theatre company, and street performers Mind the Gap. Art activities include space-themed costume making and craft workshops with set designers, plus a silent disco, puppetry, early silent sci-fi screenings and other surprises.
• 13-14 July, Birmingham, free, birminghamhippodrome.com

Bluedot Festival, Cheshire

Taking place around the giant Lovell Telescope at Jodrell Bank Observatory, this four-day event includes live music from Hot Chip, Kraftwerk, New Order, Jon Hopkins, Anna Calvi, Jarvis Cocker, Kate Tempest, and more, plus space-age pop ensemble Radio Science Orchestra’s audio-visual show Music out of the Moon. Science and culture talks feature the first British astronaut, Helen Sharman, presenter Liz Bonnin, Extinction Rebellion, activist Helen Pankhurst, and physicist Jim Al-Khalili. Throughout the year, there are also walking tours around the Lovell, and later in the summer a drop-in event, Moon Rock and Meteorites (19 July-30 August), with the chance to hold real pieces of the moon brought back by Apollo astronauts.
• 18-21 July, adult weekend ticket £189.25, 11-15s £85.75, 6-10s £27.50, under-5s free, individual day and night tickets also available, Jodrell Bank Discovery Centre, Manchester, discoverthebluedot.com

Apollo 50 festival, Cornwall

This new one-day science, music and arts festival takes place at Goonhilly Earth Station and is headlined this year by Orbital and Public Service Broadcasting. The programme also includes performances by the Bowie Lounge and BBC Radiophonic Workshop. There will also be film screenings, a wave laser music workshop, rocket club, tech jam, stargazing and talks with scientists and authors. Camping in a field with a small cafe-bar and a view of the dishes is included in the ticket price.
• 20 July, Goonhilly Earth Station near Helston, weekend tickets £59, under-5s free, apollo50.co.uk

First Man festival, County Durham

In open pastureland under the dark skies of the County Durham countryside, First Man is hosted by the team from astronomy site Go Stargazing, with planetarium shows, a virtual reality rocket launch experience and astronomy talks and demos. Arts and crafts workshops include build-your-own-rocket (then launched in a rocket competition) and an introduction to telescopes – with opportunities to view the moon, Saturn, Jupiter, and the sun through special solar telescopes. There’ll also be space for camping, a refreshment stall, an onsite kitchen facilities for meal times, and music in the evenings alongside the stargazing.
• 19-21 July, villages of Girsby and Over Dinsdale, near Darlington. Adult day tickets £15, children (5-16) £5; family weekend ticket £60 (inc camping, 2 adults, 3 children) gostargazing.co.uk

Moon50 Festival, Glasgow

Daytime and nighttime planetarium shows at Glasgow Science Centre’s week-long festival include a 360-degree journey to the Apollo landing sites, and screenings across the dome of First Man and Muppets in Space. There will also be talks and panel discussions: from debunking lunar-landing conspiracies to debating the challenges of sending humans to Mars. And to close with a big bang, party like it’s 1969 at a family-friendly vintage dress-up do, with spaced-themed activities and live entertainment in a retro moon-themed living room.
• 13-20 July, events priced individually, Glasgow Science Centre, glasgowsciencecentre.org

Moon Festival, London

A free moon-themed opening party (19 July) kicks-off this series of lunar events – with soulful sounds from musicians BINA and Ouraa, a street food market, an interactive astrology tent, puppetry, dance and art installations. It is followed by the first Woolwich Late, taking place in public spaces, including yoga and DJs in the library. Events later in the week include Duckie’s Posh Club Late cabaret with Amy Lamé; a moon-themed pub-quiz; Maverick Women talks and performances with a keynote by Margaret Atwood, plus poetry, lectures, and other events.
• 19-26 July, various venues in Woolwich/Greenwich, free-£40, moonfestival.co.uk

Summer of Space, London

Celebrating the history of human space exploration over a three-month festival, there are lunar events, for all ages, at the Science Museum in South Kensington. Highlights of the family festival weekend (20-21 July) include astronaut dressing up and a sleepover in the museum (20 July) with a lunar rover workshop and an astronaut’s “guts in space” show. Michael Palin will be introducing a special screening of The Clangers (20 July), as the original narrator of the much-loved animation series. There’s also daily virtual reality experience with Tim Peake, the European Space Agency’s first British astronaut, plus space exhibitions, and a moon-themed short film festival (26 July) in the Imax cinema.
• Until September, events priced individually, Science Museum, London,sciencemuseum.org.uk

Apollo 11 Space Lates and the Darkside show, Leicester

Spend the evening in the National Space Centre galleries with an optional sleepover, which includes breakfast under the rockets (£15 lates; £30/£40 sleepover, bring your own bedding). Visitors will get the chance to see the new exhibition Britain’s Space Race and take part in lunar mission workshops. Talks from scientists and Apollo experts include professional spacesuit maker Stephen Wisdom; plus planetarium shows through the night, a silent disco, costume competition, and astronaut ice-cream (along with non-space food from the cafe). Other events at the museum, as part of One Giant Leap series (13 July-1 September), include drop-in mission patch-making workshops and lunar sample handling. Tickets are also still available for one of the Darkside live shows on 11 July (18+, £15), performed by a Pink Floyd tribute act with live music, light projections, and a mini beer festival.
• National Space Centre, Leicester spacecentre.co.uk

The Moon Landing 50th Anniversary and Museum Lates, Cardiff

The main celebration at the National Museum of Wales includes a day of family-friendly games and activities on 20 July (build a rocket or have a photo taken as Buzz Aldrin holding a real piece of the moon), plus talks for adults on the space race and conspiracy theories. A large-scale late-night event earlier in the week (18 July) aims to blur the lines between art, clubbing and education around the theme of space. Transforming the museum into an immersive galactic environment, there’ll be DJs, live music, video art, theatre, dance and interactive installations.
• Various dates, events priced individually, National Museum of Wales, Cardiff, museum.wales

• For more lunar celebrations around the UK visit the Go Stargazing events page and the Moon50 listings created by the UK Association for Science and Discovery Centres (ASDC) and the UK Space Agency.

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