Explore Our Planet

Join us for a weekend of fun, facts and interactive environmental science, all for free.

Archwiliwch ein planed — Explore our planet, in partnership with UKRI Natural Environment Research Council, will feature hands-on attractions and in-person talks by the UK’s leading environmental scientists.

Visitors will have the opportunity to take a look and get involved, meeting the scientists that are delivering global environmental research, and learn about how we can live sustainably on planet Earth.

The scheduled talks will be:

• Both days
  • Lightning: A Fascinating Journey. Dr Daniel Mitchard, Cardiff University
  • The Secret Life of Seals. Dr Carol Sparling, Sea Mammal Research Unit
• Saturday only
  • Rivers in Your Hands: How volunteers are revolutionising water quality monitoring across the UK. Dr Liz Bagshaw, Elle von Benzon and Prof Roo Perkins, University of Bristol
  • The Air We Share: Uncovering pollution around us. Dr Simon O’Meara, NCAS
• Sunday only
  • Antarctica and Wales: The Glacial Connection. Dr Alastair Graham, Cardiff University
  • No Words, No Numbers — climate change in colour. Dr Eliza Karlowska and Mr Laurents Marker, NCAS

You will also be able to visit the Royal Research Ship, The James Cook, in Cardiff Bay — thanks to one of the world’s top oceanographic institutions, the National Oceanography Centre (NOC).

This is a unique opportunity to see first-hand what it’s like on a working research ship, with seagoing technicians often at sea for weeks at a time, carrying out critical research under difficult conditions. Please note that some restrictions apply.

For this special event on Friday 18 October, free schools’ places have been allocated for those that meet specific criteria.

• The James Cook: Restrictions

  Arrival time

  Please arrive at Britannia Quay in the Roath Basin where the RRS James Cook will be berthed no later than 5 minutes before the start time of your tour. We will be unable to accommodate late arrivals. The Ship is approximately a 10-minute walk from Techniquest.

  Documents

  You will need to have your ticket available either on your phone or as a printed document along with a photo ID matching the name on your ticket in order to board the ship. National Oceanography Centre staff will check you in one by one. NOC reserves the right to refuse access to the ship, if they feel it is not safe to do so.

  Security

  Please note that a bag check may be conducted on some guests to confirm to the Ship’s Security Plan, which is a requirement of the International Ship and Port Facility Security Code.

  Mobility

  A tour of the ship involves using several flights of steep stairs, negotiating narrow corridors and climbing over high steps.

  Children & babes in arms

  Any child aged 7 or under must be accompanied by an adult at all times, at a ratio of 1 child : 1 adult, and any child aged 8–15 at a ratio of 2 children : 1 adult. Neither buggies nor prams can be accommodated on the ship visit, and any babes in arms must be placed in a baby carrier (either front or back-facing) to allow hands-free access for the parent or carer concerned.