Residents at Gillingham Grange care home in Chard connected live with NASA’s renowned Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in California for an exclusive virtual tour.
Residents, the 1st Chard Scouts Group, and The Hive Youth Group gathered in the home’s cinema room for a rare opportunity to step behind the scenes of one of the world’s leading centres for robotic space exploration.
During the live tour, attendees learnt about the development of spacecraft designed to travel throughout our solar system, discovering their purpose, lifespan and the planets they are sent to orbit or land on, as well as the valuable information they collect.
To celebrate the occasion, Gillingham Grange’s talented kitchen team created a selection of space-themed cupcakes and cookies. The home was transformed for the event, with the cinema, garden room and corridors decorated with planets, stars, and alien balloons.
Resident Carol Blakeway (88) said:
“I feel very privileged that we were able to speak with NASA and have such a knowledgeable tour guide. Not something that happens every day and not many people can say they have done!”
Resident Ian Worth (93) added:
“It was a thoroughly enjoyable evening. The tour guide was fantastic and kept everyone interested and explained each part of the tour very well. Marvellous that we were able to connect with NASA!”
Gemma Jones, the Customer Relationship Manager at Gillingham Grange, commented:
‘After months of planning, we finally connected with NASA! We all had a truly fascinating evening and made once in a lifetime memory that we will never forget. Thank you to the 1st Chard Scout group and the Hive Young People’s group for joining us.’
You can find out more about community events at Gillingham Grange during the home’s weekly Tea on Tuesday events, where all are welcome to enjoy light refreshments with the residents.
For more information, call 01460 923169 or email [email protected].
