World Space Week runs from 4 to 10 October every year, and the 2026 theme is the Rocket Revolution. In Portsmouth we are celebrating it with Portsmouth City Council and Portsmouth Libraries: two Build Your Rocket workshops for children aged 5 to 11 on Saturday 10 October, at Central Library and Southsea Library, for £4 a child.
Here is what World Space Week is, why this year is all about rockets, and what your child will do in the hour.
What is World Space Week?
World Space Week is an international celebration of space science and technology, declared by the United Nations General Assembly in 1999. It is held from 4 to 10 October, and both dates mean something. On 4 October 1957 the Soviet Union launched Sputnik 1, the first satellite. On 10 October 1967 the Outer Space Treaty came into force, the agreement that says space belongs to the whole of humanity and no country can claim the Moon.
It has grown into one of the biggest space events on the calendar. Schools, museums, libraries, space agencies and companies run events in their own towns, and the organisers counted around 50,000 events in more than 100 countries in 2025. Anyone can take part, and this year Portsmouth is on the map.
The 2026 theme: Rocket Revolution
Every World Space Week has a theme, and 2026’s is the Rocket Revolution. For most of the space age, a rocket was used once and thrown away, and only a handful of governments could afford to launch one. That has changed fast. Rockets now land themselves and fly again, small rockets carry small satellites for universities and start-ups, and more countries, the UK among them, are building their own places to launch from.
For children, the theme lands on a question they already ask: how does a rocket actually get off the ground? We have written how rockets work, explained for a seven-year-old, and it is a good thing to read together before Saturday.
Build Your Rocket at Portsmouth libraries
To mark the week, Louno Space is running two Build Your Rocket workshops with Portsmouth City Council’s library service on the last day of World Space Week, Saturday 10 October 2026. The same workshop runs twice, in two libraries, so families on either side of the city can get to one.
| Session | Where | When |
|---|---|---|
| Morning | Central Library, Guildhall Square, Portsmouth PO1 2DX | Saturday 10 October, 11:00am to 12:00pm |
| Afternoon | Southsea Library, 14 Palmerston Road, Southsea PO5 3QY | Saturday 10 October, 3:00pm to 4:00pm |
- Ages: 5 to 11.
- Price: £4 per child. A parent or carer stays for the session, free.
- Places: 25 children per session, booked online. Booking closes by itself when a session is full.
- What to bring: nothing. We bring every material and every tool.
A big thank you to Portsmouth Libraries, who are subsidising the workshops so we can keep the price at just £4 a child.
You can see both sessions and book a place for World Space Week in Portsmouth on our event page. If you cannot make it after all, email us before 9 October and we refund in full, which also frees the seat for another family.
What happens in the hour
It is real engineering, pitched at the child in front of us, not a craft table. The session follows the same method we use in our school clubs, squeezed into sixty minutes:
- Design. Fins, nose cone, weight. We show the trade-offs engineers make, then every child draws their own rocket.
- Build. They build the rocket they drew, with a real engineer on hand when a fin will not stay on.
- Launch. Every rocket flies. Some go straight up and some do not, and working out why is the best part of the hour.
- Take it home. The rocket goes home with them, along with the reason it flew.
That last step matters more than it sounds. A child who can explain to someone at school on Monday why their rocket wobbled has learned something no worksheet teaches.
Why the library
Libraries are where a lot of children first meet space, in a book about planets or astronauts borrowed on a Saturday morning. Holding the workshops there keeps them local, walkable and affordable, and puts a hands-on session in a place families already know and trust. It also means the week does not end at the door: the children’s section has plenty to read about rockets once the launch is over.
Keep the whole week going
Saturday is launch day, but World Space Week starts on Sunday 4 October. If you want something to do on the other six days, we have put together a World Space Week activity for every day of the week, each one twenty minutes long and made from things you already have. Teachers can find a Monday to Friday plan in World Space Week activities for schools.
Questions parents ask about World Space Week in Portsmouth
When is World Space Week 2026?
World Space Week 2026 runs from Sunday 4 October to Saturday 10 October. The dates are the same every year.
Do I need to book the library workshops?
Yes. Each session is limited to 25 children and places are booked online at £4 per child. Booking closes automatically when a session is full.
Is the workshop suitable for a five-year-old?
Yes. It is designed for ages 5 to 11, and a parent or carer stays for the hour, so younger children get the help they need with the build.
Can younger siblings come?
They are welcome to watch with you, but the build is pitched at age 5 and up, so only children with a booked place take part.
What if I have booked and can no longer come?
Email us before 9 October and we refund in full. Places are capped, so letting us know gives another child the seat.
Mirko Viviano
Founder of Louno Space Education CIC. Runs space-themed STEAM clubs, workshops and assemblies in primary schools across the UK.
