(Above) Crew from the Atlantis Space Shuttle take a journey back in time aboard HMS Victory at Portsmouth Historic Dockyard. © Stephen Courtney
The Atlantis Space Shuttle crew recently made Portsmouth, a city with its own history of journey and discovery, the first stop of their NASA UK tour after returning from a 12 day mission in outer space.
The astronauts visited different attractions in the city, including Portsmouth Historic Dockyard and later Fratton Park, to share their exciting stories about their experiences in the solar system with thousands of school children and young people.
"The crew's visit to Portsmouth and the presentation to school children is intended to inspire young people, not to necessarily teach them about space exploration and physics, but to reach for the skies," said James Priory, headmaster, Portsmouth Grammar School (PGS), which organised the astronauts' visit to the city.
"The astronauts think of themselves as ordinary people doing extraordinary things."
Education visits to Portsmouth Historic Dockyard
Portsmouth Historic Dockyard has 800 years of ground-breaking naval history, including Henry VIII's Mary Rose, Nelson's HMS Victory and HMS Warrior. Find out more about school visits in the Learning section of the Portsnouth Historic Dockyard website.
More on space
There are lots of science museums and centres round the UK where you can take your pupils as part of a space project. Scroll down for a list of suggestions.