Educational activities

The Universe around us

At our camp, we will show you how our cosmic backyard, the Solar System, is built. You will learn about various phenomena occurring on Solar System objects, including the mechanisms of their operation. Our classes will introduce you to the ways in which humanity has explored the Solar System. There will also be comments on the current state of space exploration and ongoing missions, including their significance for humanity.

Distant cosmos

You will learn how the universe evolves and how its farthest corners are studied. You will discover the secrets of galaxies and the stars that form them. In class, we will explain why scientists are searching for elusive dark matter and what impact it has on what we observe. You will have the opportunity to look at not only the processes occurring inside stars like the Sun, but also to learn how these phenomena allow us to discover exoplanets – places where extraterrestrial civilizations may develop.

Astronomical observations

At the beginning of the camp, we will conduct practical classes for you, during which you will become familiar with various types of observation equipment. You will learn how to use telescopes and binoculars effectively and safely. We will introduce you to the basics of astrophotography and show you what astronomical photography looks like in practice.
In class, we will explain how to navigate the night sky. You will learn to use an atlas and a rotating sky map.
Every night when the sky is cloudless, you will be able to participate in astronomical observations. You will learn about the constellations visible in summer from Poland. You will also have the opportunity to observe, using telescopes and binoculars, celestial bodies of the Solar System and deep sky objects.

Motion of celestial bodies

To talk about astronomical objects, we will focus heavily on the force dictating their motion in space – gravity. We will learn how conclusions about the motion of stars, planets, or even space rockets are drawn from the law of universal gravitation, and we will also look at the discoveries of Copernicus, Newton, and Kepler with interesting details that are omitted in history and physics lessons. We will also translate knowledge about the motion of objects in space into motion observed through a telescope in the sky and learn to accurately describe areas of the sky.

Elements of modern physics

During our camp, you will learn the basic elements of modern physics that will allow you to delve into the most interesting elements of astrophysics. During our course, you will learn, among other things, about the mechanisms occurring inside stars, including our Sun, thanks to which they are able to produce the energy necessary for the existence of life on Earth. We will also introduce and explain some of the latest discoveries in astronomy. For example, you will learn how it is possible to observe collisions of black holes hidden in distant corners of the cosmos.

Experiments

In addition to telescopes, we also have experimental sets that will allow you to see physical phenomena with your own eyes. During classes, we will organize spectacular demonstrations that will help you better understand the topics discussed. For example, you will see that light can be polarized. You will be able to familiarize yourself with the apparatus on your own by conducting your own experiments. You will also be able to build your own simplified versions of professional astronomical instruments.

Mathematical supplements

In the above paragraphs, physical and astronomical topics were mentioned that use the language of mathematics. As a supplement to these classes, there will be classes at the camp introducing the world of formulas and calculations. Thanks to them, each of you will be able to understand the topics discussed regardless of how you feel about mathematics now. From experience, we know that there is something interesting for everyone.

Innovative teaching methods

Our camps offer an innovative approach to education. Classes in small groups are led by enthusiasts who were camp participants in the past. The curriculum is flexible and tailored to participants. You will have the opportunity for private consultations with the teaching staff, and you will also learn the secrets of a scientist’s work thanks to invited experts. We will help you develop not only your knowledge, but also soft skills such as communication and critical thinking, useful when creating engaging presentations.

Daily schedule

Wake-up call
Morning exercises
These are morning sports activities lasting about 30 minutes. They help you fully wake up and prepare your body for the rest of the day.
Breakfast
Cleanliness check
Every day we make sure that the tents are tidy, not only for aesthetic reasons, but also to ensure safety and the most comfortable living conditions in the tent – after all, no one likes putting on damp clothes after they’ve fallen from the shelf to the ground or discovering that they accidentally shared their food with ants.
Classes – 1st quarter
Scientific classes during the day are usually divided into 4 parts – quarters.
Classes – 2nd quarter
Lunch
Rest after lunch
Classes – 3rd quarter
Afternoon snack
Classes – 4th quarter
Dinner
Evening activities
Night observations or bedtime

Guests

Our camps often host guests, scientists invited by us who share their unique knowledge and skills in the form of lectures or workshops.

Diary from a participant’s life

Morning

I was awakened by the voice of the camp leader, carrying between the tents: Astronomy camp, wake uuup! Prepare for morning exercises – time: ten minutes!

I opened my eyes and saw the green canvas of the tent, on which shadows were cast by sticks and pine cones falling from time to time from the surrounding trees. I took a deep breath of Załęcze air – never before had I breathed the smell of the forest for so long as during the last few days – and slid out of my sleeping bag resting on a camp bed, the so-called cot. When I arrived, I thought that sleeping in such a strange place wouldn’t be comfortable, but after the night observations, it turned out that I had never slept so well in my life as here.

I slipped my feet into thick socks and then flip-flops so as not to step barefoot on the forest floor. It may not be the latest fashion trend, but it works perfectly here! Together with my tent mates, I went to the bathrooms to prepare for the roll call for sports activities. Today I will definitely choose zumba. Although yesterday’s forest running was also very pleasant!

After morning exercises, a morning shower, and breakfast, classes took place. The staff who led them didn’t seem much older than me, and yet everyone was doing something interesting – some introduced themselves as computer science or chemistry students, and others as astronomers or engineers. We sat on the meadow on blankets in small groups and listened about mathematics and physics, but also stars and their observations. We solved problems together, and if someone was interested in a topic, they could later ask the staff for more details or ask for help in better understanding what we were doing. However, no one graded our results, which was completely new to me – I could learn as much as I wanted.

Afternoon

During the roll call before lunch, sticky notes with phrases to guess were stuck on our backs, so the entire meal was spent asking my table neighbors: am I a thing? or can I be eaten?, to which they only answered yes or no. After the second course, I finally managed to guess that I was a “scary camp leader” (and theoretically you can eat me, but it’s better not to try).

Before the next classes, we had free time. Some went to the shop for ice cream, several people learned juggling from one of the staff members, and I lay down on a blanket where “Read to me, staff” was to take place. I dozed off, half-listening to “The Cyberiad”.

The next class was led by a guest – a real scientist who studies black holes! He told us what a black hole actually is and how it happened that a picture of it was taken (or actually a picture of its shadow). He talked about it in such a way that it sounded incredibly simple, although it certainly wasn’t.

Evening

I dressed warmly and took my ukulele and flashlight with me. At the appointed time, a campfire began, during which, in addition to singing together, the staff shared stories from their camps. Someone told how during a kayaking trip, as participants, they joined forces to “sink” the staff’s kayak by singing sea shanties (to a dizzying depth of almost half a meter in the river where the trip took place). Another person recalled how, together with several people from the tent, they decided to do an experiment with coca-cola and mentos, but accidentally ran into some staff member. However, instead of forbidding them, he invited them to present it during an outdoor snack, while explaining what reaction occurs inside the bottle. Since it was already the nth day of camp, several participants also shared their stories.

You could stay by the campfire and continue singing, or break away with a group and play board games, “mafia,” or rest in your tent. Several people talked with the staff about foreign travel and other interests. I decided to sing a little longer, and then prepared for night observations.

The camp leader gathered us at roll call and together with the staff we went out to the field where telescopes were already set up. I’ve lived in the city center all my life, so I had never seen such a starry sky before. I participated in a competition to find successive objects from the Messier catalog. So far I was doing quite well, with the help of an atlas and observation staff I managed to find quite a few of them. The thought that in this small spot of light in the telescope eyepiece there are millions of stars still didn’t fit in my head.

Some participants had already gone to sleep, but I decided to stay a little longer for the optional part of observations. I looked through binoculars at several asterisms, and then helped put the telescopes away and returned to the tent. In my head I still had impressions from the whole day – from the morning dance, through formulas memorized from exercises, conversations with friends made at camp, jokes and singing by the campfire, intriguing stories about the universe, to the view of the Milky Way stretching over the camp.