What do you get when you combine 20 kids, four space-trained facilitators, heaps of cardboard, and a two-day countdown to galactic launch?

You get ‘Building Our Space Colony’, the unforgettable space adventure camp that landed at Miles Coverdale Primary School in Shepherd’s Bush on 14 and 15 April 2025.

Let’s just say: “Houston, we had absolutely no problems”.

From the second our young space cadets arrived, they were in deep space mode — decoding alien messages, engineering life support systems and navigating asteroid fields (aka the school hall). The best part? They were unknowingly practising Key Stage 2 maths, English, DT and science the whole time!

Yep — this was stealth learning at its finest. Measuring, estimating, decoding, planning and presenting… Tick, tick, tick, tick and tick!

We’re not saying the kids asked to learn new adjectives to describe their alien creation… but they did. And they loved it.

Along the way, one team even decided that a space jacuzzi was probably essential to life on Planet Gloopa, while another built a meteor deflector shaped like a taco. You had to be there.

Meet the captains

Every great mission needs great leaders. Ours came in the form of Captains Caity, Daniel and Douglas — three fearless facilitators who steered this interstellar crew with humour, heart and a whole lot of bubble wrap. Whether refereeing ‘Alien Dodgeball’ or guiding teams through a crash pod engineering challenge involving dropping protected raw eggs from a surprising height, the captains made sure every child felt like the hero of their own cosmic story.

A mixed-year marvel

This wasn’t your standard classroom grouping. The cohort ranged across Years 3 to 6 (though we even had a couple of more junior explorers), and the benefits were huge. Older cadets naturally stepped into mentoring roles, while younger ones brought the spark. And the social learning? Off the charts. Watching a 9-year-old explain coordinate grids to a younger teammate in Star Wars-speak ? Priceless.

Teamwork in zero gravity

A major win of the space camp lay in its group challenges — creative, physical, and entirely inclusive. Whether navigating blindfolded ‘space walks’ or constructing a fully functional colony out of recycled materials, every child had a role that mattered. No one was left on the sidelines — this was collaboration over competition, with communication, leadership and resilience included in every phase.

Liftoff, laughter and a whole lot of dancing

By the end of Day Two, the colonies were complete, the aliens had (mostly) been befriended and every child stood a little taller — not just from pride, but from the sense of having accomplished something big. During the final countdown celebration (featuring another unplanned set by DJ Captain Patrick who was only supposed to be there to make sure everyone was well looked after), each space cadet was awarded a certificate of achievement and an Easter egg — and, more importantly, a massive cheer from their crew.

Until our next mission…

To Miles Coverdale School, a huge thanks for making us so welcome; and to Hassan, without a doubt the kindest and most helpful site manager in the Milky Way. To all the parents, thank you for trusting us with your brilliant, curious and creative kids. They made us laugh, made us think, and reminded us that learning can be an adventure — especially when there’s cardboard, a glue-gun and loads of fun involved.

Here’s to the next mission.

Bring it on…