Space Week brings children closer to space in Salzburg

Children in Maria Alm, in the Pinzgau region, are exploring space and astronomy this week as part of Space Week, hosted with the Austrian Space Forum, ORF reported.

The programme at the FriDa family hotel combines lectures and hands-on activities. Children can try on a real spacesuit, play minigolf on a moon landscape and slide through a space-themed attraction.

“The whole experience is the focus,” said Peter Just, director of the hotel. Workshops include the topic of smells in space, along with a quiz. On Tuesday evening, the children are due to observe the stars with a telescope on the roof, weather permitting.

Interest in the sun, moon and stars has been particularly strong this year. Gernot Grömer, director of the Austrian Space Forum, attributed some of the enthusiasm to several spectacular celestial events in recent months, including a solar eclipse, a recent lunar eclipse and the first flight around the moon in a long time.

The space organisation wants to use the current interest to encourage children to engage with science and space travel at an early age. Events such as Space Week are intended to provide an initial introduction and potentially inspire future studies in the field.

“We want to give the children the enthusiasm that may turn into a degree programme in 20 years,” Grömer said. He added that one of the children attending could one day become the first person to set foot on Mars and remember the week in Maria Alm.