Cosmonauts Encourage Doncaster Pupils

COSMONAUTS visiting Doncaster College have encouraged the town’s youngsters to achieve their dreams and go into space.

Russian space experts Alexander Martynov and Alexander Volkov gave talks to 700 Year 9 pupils from secondary and special schools across the town at Doncaster Dome on Tuesday, June 3. The visit was designed to get youngsters interested in different aspects of science in relation to space travel.

Youngsters listened intently to a 90-minute talk about how people live in space, with the cosmonauts showing clips of how they wash, exercise and eat outside of the Earth’s atmosphere.

A Doncaster College spokesman said: “The kids were absolutely spellbound by what they heard. They had so many questions for the cosmonauts it was unbelievable. They all had a fantastic time and it probably inspired them to bigger and better things.”

The duo also delivered a talk to 80 employers at Doncaster College’s Hub campus on the same day. This event was catered by the College’s various Hospitality and Catering students working in the Hub’s Waterfront Restaurant.

Martynov was previously Head of Ballistics at the Russian Control Centre while Volkov is a cosmonaut who has been to Space Station Mir on many occasions. They led interactive presentations entitled ‘It Is Rocket Science’ and ‘Manned Mission To Mars’.

Volkov said: “If young people in Doncaster have a dream to go into space, they can do it if they put their mind to it. I had a dream as a young boy and it came true so it can happen.”

The events were funded by Doncaster Council through Objective 1, the LSC and Renaissance South Yorkshire. Doncaster Council worked alongside Doncaster College, Doncaster Chamber and STEMNET (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths Network) to organise the event.

ENDS