Bristol Folk House

Climbing the Cosmic Distance Ladder: Maths, History and Astronomy

Start date: 17 October 2026

Day: Saturday

Course length: 1 Day Course

Time: 10:00 to 16:00

Folk House

Course code: SM01

Full fee: £63.00 | Over 65s: £56.70 | Benefit: £50.40

Tutor: Steve Haynes

Courses description

Follow in the footsteps of ancient astronomers as they sought to understand and predict the movements of celestial bodies. Learn how these ancient ideas and observations were used during the scientific revolution to gain an increasingly accurate and detailed view of the solar system's layout, size and movements. Explore how the principle of parallax combined with new technologies to shed light on the distances to the nearest stars. Sit alongside 19th Century astronomers as they gradually came to understand the true scale of the universe, producing compelling evidence for the existence of separate galaxies spread across unimaginably large distances.

This workshop intersperses short historical overviews with mathematical problems for you to solve in your own time. Students will be encouraged to work through each step of the 'cosmic distance ladder' themselves, with full solutions being provided at the end of each puzzle.

The level of maths required is covered by the higher end of the GCSE maths syllabus, making use of multiplication, division, trigonometry, rearranging of formulae and the negotiation of various distance units.

The emphasis of this workshop is on attempting to imaginatively inhabit historical worldviews from the distant past. We will meet a range of compelling historical characters and seek to understand what it took for them to make these huge leaps in understanding, challenging paradigms and received wisdom.

Steve Haynes is an associate lecturer in engineering mathematics at The University of West England (UWE) in Bristol. He is also a keen reader of historical and scientific books who is particularly fascinated by ancient examples of engineering and scientific acumen.

Please note: All 10, and 12 week courses have a half term break in the middle. For term dates please visit our Contact us page. We are not open on bank holiday Mondays and any class that falls on these days will be made up at the end of term.

Fees

You will need to have paid in full for your course or workshop to guarantee your place. We do not accept deposits or part payments. Courses and workshops are becoming increasingly popular, so please book early in order to guarantee your place.
We do offer concession rates for anyone over 65, NHS staff (blue light cards), Students or claiming the benefits listed below. As we are a self-funded organisation we receive no financial support, in order to offer these rates.
The concessionary rate is for those whose sole source of income is from a state benefit. We accept Universal Credit, Income Support, Job Seekers Allowance and Employment and Support Allowance. Please show a recent letter or statement stating your benefit when enrolling.

Refunds

In the event that we have to cancel a course, we aim to inform you 2 working days before the start date, or at least 24 hours before a day workshop. If we have to cancel a course, then you will receive a full credit note or refund.
If you wish to cancel your place you must inform us up to 14 days before the start date of your course or workshop. In this case you will receive a refund minus a 15% admin fee.
If you give us less than 14 days notice, or your course or workshop has already started a refund will be not given.

Please see full terms and conditions for more information.

Latecomer

If a course has already started, please call the office as it may be possible to join after the start date. This may only be possible if the course is not already full, if it is not disruptive for the other students and you are aware that you have missed a percentage of the course and the tutor will not have time to catch you up. This will be at discretion of the Folk House. We run our courses termly, so it might be best to start at the beginning of the course.

Levels

You must be over 18 years old to attend a course or workshop at the Bristol Folk House.
All our courses and workshops are non-accredited and will not receive a certificate for attending.
We offer a range of courses at all levels and our tutors make every effort to accommodate your individual needs. Before choosing you may want to speak to the tutor to make sure the course is right for you. Please contact the office.
To join all of our courses you must be able to follow written and verbal instructions and you may be invited to take part in group discussions. Please look at the rest of the course outline carefully to decide if you may benefit from any additional support to help you to take part in this class. Please contact the office if you require any further information.
If you have a disability, learning difficulty or mental health issue which may affect your participation in your chosen course please contact the office prior to enrolling. If you will need to bring a career or support worker with you to the class, please inform the office when enrolling so we can make arrangements.

Access/ Parking

Much as we would like to provide access for all, the Folk House has no level access or accessible facilities.
We have no onsite car parking at the Bristol Folk House but there are many paid parking spots in the area. Please ask us for details on parking or see our website for more detail.
We are on a busy bus route and have plenty of bike racks in our courtyard garden.