A good space party entertainer is checked, insured, hands-on and honest about what “educational” means. Before you book anyone, including us, ask the nine questions below. The answers tell you more than a gallery of photos, and any entertainer who does this properly will be glad you asked.
We run space birthday parties, so we are one of the options you might be comparing. This guide is written to be useful whoever you book. Where we describe how we do something it is so you can hold us to it, not so you skip the questions.
The nine questions
1. Who exactly turns up on the day, and are they DBS-checked?
Not “is the company checked” but “is the person who will be in my living room checked”. Ask for the name of your party leader and whether they hold an enhanced DBS certificate. For anyone working with children regularly that is the baseline. Ours are DBS-checked and safeguarding-trained before they run a single session, and you can ask to see it.
2. Do you have public liability insurance?
Anyone launching rockets in your garden should be insured for it. Ask for the amount of cover and whether it is current. A vague answer here is a reason to book someone else.
3. What will the children actually make?
“Space themed” can mean a magician in a silver waistcoat. Ask what each child builds and takes home. If the honest answer is “they watch a show”, that is a perfectly good party, but it is a show, not a workshop, and it should be priced and described as one. At ours every child builds the thing that gets launched or tested, and leaves with it.
4. What is the adult-to-child ratio and the maximum crew?
One leader can run a build for about ten children. Beyond that, either the activity gets simpler or a second adult is needed. Ask what happens at twelve, at fifteen, at twenty. We price for up to ten and add a small per-child fee beyond that, and we will tell you when a group needs a second pair of hands.
5. What do I need to provide?
The right answer is short. A room with some floor or table space, access a little before the start, and the children. If the list includes tables you must hire, power you must supply or materials you must buy, the price is not the price.
6. Indoors or outdoors, and what happens if it rains?
Anything that launches with pressure belongs outside. A good entertainer has an indoor version of the launch ready for a wet day and tells you which bits move indoors before you book, not at the door.
7. Is the science real, and who wrote it?
“Educational” is a claim; ask what sits behind it. Who designed the activities, and do they have a science or engineering background? Is the explanation the children hear actually correct? We are a Community Interest Company founded by a working spacecraft engineer and our sessions run to a written five-phase plan, which is a long way of saying: ask us this too.
8. What is the birthday child’s role?
The worst space parties make the birthday child one of the audience. Ask how they are singled out. At ours they are named Mission Commander in the first five minutes, lead every countdown and hand out the certificates at the end. Whoever you book, make sure there is an answer.
9. What is included in the price, and what is not?
Travel, materials, invites, party bags, certificates, set-up and pack-down: ask which are in and which are extras. Ask about deposits and what happens if a child is ill and the date moves. A clear answer is worth more than a low headline number.
A comparison you can fill in
Put the three quotes you are considering side by side. We have filled in our own column so you can see what the answers look like.
| Question | Louno Space | Option B | Option C |
|---|---|---|---|
| Leader DBS-checked | Yes, and safeguarding-trained | ||
| Public liability insurance | Yes | ||
| What each child makes | A rocket, a rover, a solar system or an alien decoder, taken home | ||
| Crew size and ratio | Up to 20 children, £12 each beyond the first 10 | ||
| You provide | A room, the children, the cake | ||
| Wet-weather plan | Indoor launch version included | ||
| Who wrote the science | A spacecraft engineer; written five-phase plan | ||
| Birthday child’s role | Mission Commander: countdowns and certificates | ||
| Included | Kit, invitations, certificates, set-up and pack-down; party bags £5 per child; date held free, paid in full to book | ||
| Price | £180 for up to 10, 90 minutes, ages 6 to 11; travel free within 20 miles of a local team |
Red flags, in one list
- No named leader until the day.
- “Fully insured” with no figure behind it.
- A price that does not include travel, materials or party bags.
- Rockets that launch indoors, or a launch with no line on the ground.
- Twenty children, one adult, a build activity.
- Nobody can tell you what the children learn.
If you would rather run it yourself
You can. Our space birthday party ideas guide has the whole plan, and the twelve games need almost no kit. The entertainer is for the afternoon you would rather spend as a parent than as mission control.
Booking us
A Louno Space birthday party is a 90-minute mission at your home or venue, led by a DBS-checked space engineer. Four missions, every material provided, invitations and certificates included, £180 for up to ten children aged six to eleven, with party bags as a £5 add-on. Weekend dates go four to six weeks ahead; we hold a provisional date free while you decide, and full payment confirms it. Our booking terms cover the rest.
Mirko Viviano
Founder of Louno Space Education CIC. Runs space-themed STEAM clubs, workshops and assemblies in primary schools across the UK.
