EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

  1.  The National Space Centre is a visitor attraction, education and research facility in Leicester that opened to the public in 2001. In its first six years of operation it has welcomed 1.4 million visitors and established a high quality public and education service.

  2.  The charity that owns and operates the facility has achieved its charitable objectives by targeting a mass family and schools audience. It has developed an extensive range of education programmes for 8-14 year olds and can demonstrate how children's attitudes and attainment in science have been affected positively by participation in education workshops (see Section 3).

  3.  In 2005 The Charity opened dialogue with stakeholders including the Science & Technology Facilities Council, East Midlands Development Agency, universities, colleges and businesses to consider how it might extend its activities to provide a service of greater benefit to the wider community. The result is the new Space Information Media Centre, to be launched in October 2007 to celebrate UK achievement in space, and the associated Career Pathways & Workforce Development programme for 14-19 year olds that will encourage young people to consider course and career options in science and engineering and provide a bridge between formal education and employment. The joint project is fully funded until its completion in March 2008.

  4.  An East Midlands consortium of education providers and support agencies has developed the concept of a Space Academy to coordinate education programmes, residential courses and distance-learning courses to further interest young people in science and engineering via the subject of space. The East Midlands Development Agency has invited a submission for development funds.

  5.  The business has covered its operating costs from trading income, sponsorships, grants and some bank borrowing. From April 2008 onward the business has a fundraising target of £400,000 per annum: £270,000 for the subsidy of its education programmes and £130,000 to run its space communication programmes. Its plan is to secure long term funding to deliver a national service. Should it secure short term funding or less funding than it needs, it will reduce its output accordingly.

  6.  The National Space Centre is run for charitable purposes and must provide a high quality education and public information provision to differentiate it from a private sector visitor attraction. It invests heavily to do so and is providing an increasingly impactful support service for formal education and business. It is seeking rolling grants totalling £400,000 per annum from stakeholders in the public sector (eg DfES, BNSC, STFC) to cover its outstanding education and space communications costs and provide a career pathways and workforce development bridge between formal education and employment. The measure of success will be the number of young people that opt for A-level, vocational courses and employment opportunities in science and engineering as a result.

NATIONAL SPACE CENTRE

2.1  Origins and Purpose

  The National Space Centre is the brainchild of the University of Leicester which, together with Leicester City Council and Chamber of Commerce, secured a lottery grant from the Millennium Commission to help build a visitor attraction, education and research facility on the site of a disused sewage works. The Centre opened to the public in 2001.

  A not-for-profit charity, the purpose of the National Space Centre is to inspire people, and particularly young people, to take an interest in science via the subject of space. It has an important supplementary role as a catalyst for the development of Leicester Science Park on the adjacent brown field site.

  Having established a high quality visitor attraction and education service for 8-14 year olds, it has a sound platform from which to introduce new programmes for 14-19 year olds and inspire them to consider the course and career options necessary to become the scientists and engineers of the future.

2.2  Visitor attraction, facilities and services

  The visitor attraction, education and research facility are presented in a purpose-built, Grimshaw-designed building and futuristic Rocket Tower. The stories of space, space exploration, earth observation, today's news from space and the future of space exploration are told via a series of galleries packed with interactives, live and screen-based presentations and artefacts.

  A family visit lasts for 3-4 hours and includes a tour of the exhibition, a show in the Space Theatre and a choice of workshops and trails. A school visit may last longer to accommodate a simulated space mission in the Challenger Learning Centre and other workshops and programmes.

  Highlights of the visit include shows in the Space Theatre and the 3D Spaceflight Induction Module simulator. The in-house Creative Services Team produced the shows for these facilities that are now playing in 50 planetaria in 15 countries worldwide.

2.3  Visitor numbers

  Visitor numbers for 2004-07:

  In addition, 40,000 children per annum receive a workshop in their classroom delivered by either a visiting presenter or videoconference.

2.4  Education programme & future developments

  The National Space Centre provides on-site and off-site education programmes for children in school groups, daily presentations and workshops for all visitors and a "space news" provision to convey the latest developments in space.

  From 2001-06 its education provision has concentrated on the 8-14 age range, inspiring children to take a general interest in science. In 2007, it is working with a range of funding partners and stakeholders to develop a programme called Career Pathways & Workforce Development to encourage 14-19 year olds to consider course and career options that will help them become the scientists and engineers of the future.

  This is considered the first step in the development of a Space Academy whereby young people expressing a specific interest in space can attend for a week's activities. The programme would include workshops on-site as well as visits to the Universities of Leicester and Nottingham and to companies such as EADS Astrium, Infoterra, Zeeko, Nottingham Scientific and Rolls Royce. This initiative is in early stages of development and is using elements of the successful University of Leicester Space School and Scottish Space School in its plans.

2.4.1  Education Programmes on-site

  50,000 school children visit the National Space Centre each year to spend time in the exhibition and take part in a choice of programmes, workshops and trails. Astronauts and other influential role models visit on a regular basis to tell their stories and inspire children.

  The flagship programme is a space mission in the Challenger Learning Centre. Curriculum-based preparation materials may be used in the classroom before the visit to the site. The two and a half hour simulated space mission is located at the Space Centre in a fully-themed space facility—half mission control; half space station.

  All students see a Space Theatre Show, covering subjects such as human spaceflight, the size of the Universe and the search for extra-terrestrial intelligence.

  Workshops and Exhibition trails are tailored to a range of science, maths and geography syllabi and include Fizzy Flyers and Fizzy Science rocket-building exercises, Earth Under Threat, Earth, Moon and Sun and the Space Station Challenge.

  A pilot project for 2006-07 is the provision of content for GCSE Astronomy in support of two schools in Warwickshire.

  The Endeavour Learning Centre is a designated "City Learning Centre" in which Leicester City Council runs study support workshops for children that have either shown an interest in science and want to learn more, or children who struggle and need support. 60 children per term attend one workshop per week for 10 weeks.

2.4.2  Education Programmes off-site

  The National Space Centre provides education programmes directly into schools for 40,000 students annually.

  The Stardome is an inflatable planetarium that travels from school to school and can accommodate 30 children for a 50 minute show about the night sky. Five shows are run over the course of a day.

  A simulated space e-mission, Operation Montserrat, is carried out in the classroom with directions coming from Mission Control at the National Space Centre via video conference. Other video conferencing programmes, including Living and Working in Space, The Solar System and Ask the Expert are available to schools across the UK and abroad.

2.4.3  Teacher Training and Support

  Programmes are far more effective if the teacher is fully engaged in the subject, has a role to play in the workshop and is committed to the pre- and post-programme coursework that best exploits the achievements on the day of the visit or outreach programme. The education team helps agencies such as Local Education Authorities, SETPOINTS, City Learning Centres and Regional Science Learning Centres in delivering their teacher training programmes.

  Education preview events and teacher INSET sessions are run to direct and enhance the teaching of space-related areas of the curriculum. Curriculum-linked trails and background information are available on the National Space Centre's website in a format that allows teachers to print them off for use in the classroom and enhance the exhibition learning experience.

2.4.4  Space News

  An exhibition gallery called Space Now will be re-launched in October 2007 as the Space Information Media Centre: a £0.5 million investment in the latest exhibition technology to tell today's news from space and celebrate UK and European achievement.

  The new gallery will include the development of a Mars Yard in the adjacent research facility. This is a simulated Martian surface on which space company EADS Astrium will test its prototype rover for the 2013 ExoMars mission, and on which school, college and university groups will be able to carry out rover building and testing workshops.

CONTRIBUTION AND IMPACT

3.1  Introduction

  The National Space Centre has much anecdotal evidence from teachers and students that its education programmes are of high quality, fulfilling and enjoyable. This section does not repeat or add to the anecdotal evidence presented elsewhere, but seeks to summarise the National Space Centre's quantifiable impact.

3.2  Breadth of contribution (numbers rounded for simplicity)

  Of the 50,000 school children that visit the National Space Centre each year, 75% are from within a one hour drive time that covers the wider Midlands region, and 20% are from a one to two hours' drive time that reaches Leeds in the North to Gloucester and North/East London in the South. The remaining 5% are from further afield. 90% of these children are aged 8-14. 5% are under 8. 5% are 14-19.

  4,000 teachers and support staff a year either accompany children or attend teacher training.

  The average visit is 3-4 hours. The majority of groups will tour the galleries, see a Space Theatre show and take part in a trail or workshop. 8,000 children per annum take part in a Challenger Learning Centre space mission.

  In 2006 40,000 children took part in an outreach programme at their school. 35,000 received a planetarium show in the Stardome or completed a classroom workshop. 5,000 took part in a video conference workshop or an e-mission.

  60 children per term attend a two hour study support class each week for 10 weeks. These are children whose formal education in the physical sciences needs additional support in order to attain the required standard. The programme has been running for four years.

  The crew of Space Shuttle STS-121 presented the story of its mission to circa 4,000 young people during a 10 day tour of the UK organised by the National Space Centre in November/December 2006. This repeated a similar tour in 2003: the first time that a full astronaut crew had visited the UK.

3.3  Challenger Learning Centre: impact

  The Challenger Learning Centre has been the subject of two studies looking at the impact of different space-themed learning initiatives on the attitudes and attainment of students.

  1.  Nearly 20% of the pupils showed an increased desire to become scientists in the future ... two months later they continued to be more positive about being a scientist.

  2.  Studies have shown that positive changes in attitudes towards science are retained by over half of the participants, four months after a well organised school education visit to the National Space Centre (Jarvis & Pell, 2004).

3.4  Study Support: impact

  Leicester City Council runs the ten week study support programmes for children from inner city schools whose formal education in the physical sciences requires additional support. It has completed two pieces of research to evaluate the impact of study support on the children that take part.

  The first assesses the enjoyment of the course and its impact on the children's attitude to science. The results are very positive. The second is an attainment study to compare the improvement in performance of the children that have completed the programme with the improvement in performance of a control group of children that have not. The following chart shows that 90% of children on the study support programme improved their performance by at least one level in moving from Key Stage 2 to Key Stage 3 compared to 60% of children that did so from the control group.

  Leicester City Council intends to carry out further research in 2007 to evaluate the performance of children that took part in the study support programme several years ago and are taking GCSE exams this year.

3.5  14-19 age group: future impact

  The Career Pathways & Workforce Development programme for 14-19 year olds will be presented in pilot format from October 2007 to March 2008 and tested before the full programme is integrated into the regular programme schedule.

FINANCE AND FUNDING

4.1  Introduction

  The National Space Centre covered all of its initial capital development costs and launched debt-free. It has an operating cost base of circa £3m per annum.

  From 2001 to 2005 the business covered 78% of its costs from trading income, 20% from sponsorships & grants and 2% from bank borrowing. The last—an outstanding £300,000 debt—has been converted from overdraft to a loan that is repayable over 15 years.

  In 2006 the business covered 86% of its operating costs from trading income due to the implementation of a gift aid scheme and strong growth in its corporate hospitality business and creative service provision. This will be repeated in 2007. Funds from sponsorships and grants for these two years have declined significantly, however, due to a number of large five year deals coming to an end in 2005 and being neither renewed nor replaced. The business broke even in 2006 and will do so again in 2007.

  From 2008 onward the business assumes 86% cost coverage from trading income and has an annual fundraising target of £400,000. In determining how it might tackle such, The Board has considered the following set of propositions:

4.2  Running a visitor attraction

  Proposition: 100% of the costs of running a visitor attraction only should be covered by trading income

  The National Space Centre is capable of covering the cost of running a visitor attraction by attracting enough visitors, setting the right prices, generating sufficient secondary spend and exploiting its asset through the sale of corporate hospitality facilities and creative services.

4.3  Telling today's news from space

  Proposition: telling today's news from space and celebrating the work of the space community should be funded by the space community

  The National Space Centre employs three people to provide a space news service, conveying the stories of the day and celebrating, specifically, UK achievements in space. In its new format that launches in October 2007, the facility will include opportunities for UK institutions to promote their activities, help inspire young people to become the scientists and engineers of the future and recruit delegates, students and employees.

  The business has received no direct income for this service since the termination of EADS Astrium's sponsorship in 2005. It has funding from the Science & Technology Facilities Council (STFC) and the East Midlands Development Agency (EMDA) to redevelop the facility and develop associated education programmes. This will cover the team's costs until March 2008. The Board presented its longer term need to the British National Space Centre (BNSC) in April 2007.

4.4  Education programme development and delivery

  Proposition: the cost of subsidising education programme development & delivery should be funded by the public sector

  The business covers 37% of the cost of developing and delivering education programmes with income from schools and has, historically, subsidised the remainder from short term sponsorships and grants. Its costs are covered with secured funds until March 2008, but not beyond.

4.5  Summary of need

  On the basis of these three propositions, the business is fully funded until March 2008 and has an annual fundraising target of £400,000 thereafter.

  The summary of need is:

4.6  Fundraising

  Since launch the business has increased the proportion of costs it is able to cover with trading income through growth in several core aspects of its business, including corporate hospitality and the sale of its creative services. It will continue to seek growth to reduce its fundraising need.

  For the period 2001-05 the business had sponsorship deals worth £350,000 per annum and other grants for specific programmes and capital projects. The majority of sponsorship terms came to an end in 2005 and were neither renewed nor replaced. A Development Director was employed in 2003 to raise new funds from grants and sponsorships beyond 2005, but the post failed to cover its costs and was made redundant in 2006.

  In 2006 and 2007 the business has grant funding in place that enables it to break even. A Government grant of £354,000 for the three years 2003-04 to 2005-06 has helped support the cost of delivering education programmes.

  For 2008 onward the Chief Executive has responsibility for achieving an ambitious fundraising target of £400,000 per annum.

4.7  Recommendation

  This paper has summarised how the National Space Centre intends to grow its education and space communications provision on behalf of education providers, young people and the employers that need their skills. It is fact that the UK needs more trained scientists and engineers.

  The National Space Centre is seeking rolling grants totalling £400,000 per annum from stakeholders in the public sector (eg DfES, BNSC, STFC) to cover its outstanding education and space communications costs and provide a career pathways & workforce development bridge between formal education and employment. The measure of success will be the number of young people that opt for A-level, vocational courses and employment opportunities in science and engineering as a result.

June 2007