Yuri’s Night is an international celebration. It takes place every year on 12th April.On this night, people celebrate space exploration. In particular, they remember a Russian man called Gagarin. He was the first man to travel into space. This historic event took place on 12th April 1961. Yuri was only 27 years old at the time. He travelled into space in a capsule called Vostok 1. He orbited around the Earth once. His historic voyage took 108 minutes. On Yuri´s Night, people also celebrate the launch of the first space shuttle into space. The first space shuttle travelled into space on 12th April 1981-exactly twenty years after Yuri´s historic voyage.
The space shuttle’s name was Columbia. It was much bigger than the capsule, Vostok 1. It contained a team of astronauts and lots of equipment. This time, the voyage into space lasted for two days.Twenty years after the launch of Columbia, people decided to organise an international party to celebrate these two historic space events. They called the celebration Yuri´s Night. The first Yuri´s Night celebrations took place on 12th April 2001. There were big parties in different countries around the world including The United States, Australia, England, Turkey, South Africa and Canada. The objective of Yuri´s Night is to create public interest in space exploration and inspire a new generation of explorers. Today, Yuri´s Night parties and associated events connect thousands of young people around the world who are passionate about space travel and exploration.
USEFUL LINKS:
Activities:
http://www.oxfordteachersupport.com/pdf/RTG_PRIM_04_09_1.pdf
The NASA Space Place:
http://spaceplace.nasa.gov/en/kids/games.shtm
Amazing Space:
http://amazing-space.stsci.edu/eds/
Kids Astronomy:
http://www.kidsastronomy.com/
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