This page: Story Outline by Barry Patterson
January 2000.
Next page: Extract
from the story
Aims
To tell the story of the meteorite crash at Barwell, Leicestershire on the 24th December 1965 for an audience of children aged 5 & upwards in a way which will be informative, participatory & fun.
Objectives.
The children will learn something of the history of the time & the scientific & social aspects of the meteorite crash & the events that followed it. The story will give the children a sense of place & community.
Introduction.
The meteorite which exploded above Barwell early in the morning of Christmas Eve 1965 was the largest known on record for Britain & it is of international scientific importance. Apart from causing a stir among the scientific community however, the event also put this small town on the map & caused quite a stir in the area. The story is an ideal medium with which to cross curriculum boundaries as it has important scientific & social ramifications, not to mention its being an orally transmitted tale within living memory, of local provenance & represented by existing & impressive artefacts which can be seen on display in Leicester Museum.
Scientific themes include:
the basis of astronomy in accurate observation of the sky
the nature of celestial events such as shooting stars, comets, meteors, meteorites;
the distinctions between them & their study
what they can tell us about the nature & origin of the solar system
Historic & social themes include:
1965 - how everyday life was different from today
1965 - news & cultural items such as the escape of "Goldie" the
Golden Eagle from London Zoo which happened just before Christmas.
how people are affected by experiences which they cannot understand or which
move them to fear or wonder
how families & communities absorb such experiences, discuss them & integrate
them into their lives
fame & the "gold rush" -the way that this affects different people
& the community as a whole
It is interesting to note that for a child growing up today the mid sixties are more remote in time than the events of World War II would have been to a child growing up in the sixties (such as the writer).