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About IAYC
Every summer the International Astronomical Youth Camp (IAYC) takes place
somewhere in Europe. About seventy people from many different
countries live together for three weeks. They are aged between 16 and
24 years old and share the same interest: astronomy. The IAYC is
different from most astronomical camps for two reasons: the
international character and the fact that you will do your own small
research project, not just accepting facts but rather discovering them
yourself. The IAYC is also not like a hotel where you follow a
summer school or an astronomy course. Every participant with his or
her own cultural background forms an important piece in the complex
puzzle of camp life. As an IAYC participant, the success of the camp
depends on your contribution.
IWA : the organisation behind the IAYCs
The IAYCs are organised by an international team of students and young
scientists. They all started as participants in IAYCs and then joined
IWA e.V., the association that has been organising these camps for more
than two decades. It must be stressed that we do not have any
commercial interest in organising the IAYCs. All IAYC leaders are
volunteers. However, our team has a great deal of experience in
organising these camps.
Participants in the IAYCs
To participate in the IAYC you must be between 16 and 24 years old.
You also have to be able to communicate in English. We use English as
the common camp language, not only during the activities in the working
groups and the non-astronomical programme, but throughout the entire
camp. The aim of this is to discourage people from the same country or
language group from spending all their time together. IAYC offers you a great
opportunity to make friends from other countries and it would be a pity
to waste that opportunity. Your English need not be perfect but you
should be able to have a normal conversation without a dictionary.
The IAYC is an Astronomy Camp. Therefore you should be interested in
science in general, and astronomy in particular. You have to be
willing to carry out a project autonomously (though there is always
your leader for support!).
How is life in an IAYC?
Observing at night and still catching enough sleep is only possible when you
wakeup late. Therefore, the IAYC day starts with breakfast at 12:00 (noon).
After breakfast, the first working group session takes place. What you do
there depends on the working group you choose. The working group sessions last
about two hours, and after that there is some free time. You can participate
in one of the sports competitions, learn how to develop photos, build and
launch micro-rockets, take a walk with your friends, ... you choose.
If you feel like organising something yourself with other participants, great!
After dinner, it's NAP time. NAP stands for Non-Astronomical Programme. What
NAP is all about can be found further on in this booklet. The evening session
of the working groups also lasts about two hours. Around midnight we have a
light meal and if the sky is clear there is the opportunity to observe.
This gives you an idea of what a normal day in the camp consists of, but not
every day will be like that. Three days are reserved for a special NAP
programme, an excursion and a free day.
Working groups
Most of the astronomical activities in the camp take place in
working groups. There are eight working groups; each one
has about 8 participants and one leader who is responsible for the
group. Every working group has its own subject. Every member of
the group works on his or her project, either alone or in groups of 2
or 3. Your working group leader will provide you with some subjects
to work on. The sort of work you do depends on your own preferences:
calculate it yourself, observe it yourself, explain it yourself, read
about it in books yourself, ... Your working group leader will help
you if you encounter problems, but you should not expect a school-like
situation where the teacher tells you something and you blindly
believe it. Don't be afraid that this might be too difficult for you.
In most working groups you will find something for every level.
Nevertheless, read the working group abstracts carefully and only
choose a working group that uses lots of mathematics, physics or
chemistry if you like these things.
At the end of the camp, everybody will write a small report on the
project he/she has worked on. All these reports are then gathered in a
book which will be sent to you after the camp. This makes a nice
souvenir and a good way to know what everybody worked on during the
camp.
Observations
The main goal of our observations will be getting results as input for
your projects. More important than the technique used is the
principle and the result. You will not find us fighting with fancy
CCD cameras if we can do the observation with conventional
astrophotography just as well. If you're not experienced at
observing you can learn some things from the leaders and other
participants.
Non-astronomical programme
Doing astronomy for three weeks without anything else drives you nuts.
That's why every day after dinner, there is an anything-but-astronomy
activity with the entire group. Group games, singing evenings,
discussions and many more things.
Contacting the IAYC
If you want to know more about the IAYC, or if you want to participate
in next year's camp, then email us at
info@iayc.org .
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