Kielder Observatory astronomers provide inspiration for prisoners at HMP Northumberland

Ishbel Carlyle, Finn Burridge and Ellie Macdonald, astronomers at Kielder Observatory, gave in-depth cosmology presentations to groups at HMP Northumberland, before creative practitioner Bridget Hamilton delivered interactive workshops over several weeks.

Bridget encouraged the men to write their own poetry on the subjects of stargazing and ‘understanding our place in the world’. The residents explored their responses to astronomy and put into words their feelings and hopes.

She said: “It was an enormously valuable experience for both them and for me. The topic of astronomy gave us lots of scope to discuss themes such as clarity, vision and discovery, thinking about what we know about the universe and our place within it, and what we may learn in the future.

“I think the benefits of the project became clear when they saw their work in their very own printed anthology. It’s always such a special moment to hold a physical copy of your poems in your hands.”

Each of the men’s poems have been included in a Zine which is available at the observatory for a suggested donation. Any funds raised will go to further outreach work with the residents.

The project, entitled Look Up, was made possible by funding from The Joicey Trust charity, with the help of Novus, which provides education and support services to people in custody.

A follow up visit from Kielder’s astronomers set the learners away with a range of resources for independent learning, including an introduction to Zooniverse which allows users to contribute citizen science projects with simple data analysis helping research in space science.

The HMP Northumberland project was one of many outreach programmes Kielder Observatory runs in a bid to inspire harder to reach communities.

Hannah Matterson, director of operations and marketing at Kielder Observatory, said: “Our outreach work in urban or deprived communities, and with often marginalised or vulnerable people, helps further our goal to share the awe and insight that learning about the universe can bring to everyone’s lives.

“This project had a profound effect on the men who took part in the workshops and we’re hoping to do further collaborative work at the prison in the future.”