During the April holidays I had the opportunity to attend The Elaine P. Snowden Astronomy School.  This camp is run by the University of Canterbury’s Physics and Astronomy Department for Year 13 students from around New Zealand.  Being one of the 20 students selected nationwide to attend this 5 day camp allowed me to share my passion for astronomy and astrophysics with like-minded students.  We stayed in the Rochester and Rutherford Halls and attended fascinating seminars about black holes, star evolution, cosmology etc. by NZ’s greatest astrophysicists and lecturers. On the third day, we travelled to Tekapo where we stargazed using the telescopes at the Mt John Observatory and drove to Mount Cook to walk the Hooker Valley track.  Immersing myself in a science and astronomy rich environment was a stellar experience.  I have never attended a science camp quite like EPS Astronomy School and I’m glad that opportunities like this are available to students.  To sum it up, the astronomy camp was out of this world and I had an absolute blast.

Beatrice Belleza, Year 13