On April 17, 2025, the Astronomy Club visited the University of Waterloo’s Planetarium and Earth and Space Sciences Department to learn about different astronomical events, the process of becoming an astronomer, and the formation of rocks.
The Astronomy Club, led by science and math teacher Ms. Bhutani, along with Mr. Rabadia’s Earth and Space Sciences class, visited the University of Waterloo to learn about rock formations and different objects in space.
The field trip first started with an interesting lesson about rocks: how they are formed and how to identify them. Students learned about different minerals found inside rocks, what they look like, and a lot of differentiating features. Later they were instructed to identify unknown rocks with the knowledge they gained in pairs. Each pair was given a prize if they were able to correctly identify the rocks.
After completing this task, students were directed to a different room where they learnt about the purpose of being an astronomer, and how to become one. This presentation helped inform many interested students and guided them in the right direction. The instructor then led the students to a set of stairs leading up to the planetarium where they taught students how it works, chose volunteers to operate the telescope, and showed the Sun in its fiery-ball form.
Simrat Walia, who aspires to a career in aerospace, explained how this trip helped her understand what she had to do to be able to be successful in the career. In her words, “It really helped me get a more hands-on feel of how it’s like working as going there. I was able to see what these people do on a daily basis and what they study, and it filled me with more excitement.” Her key takeaways were that it was something you can’t experience in a classroom, and that it would help her in the future.
Saransh Gujral told us his key takeaways included the journey to become an astrophysicist and what the education timeline would look like. This trip would help him in his future career as knowing how to become one and what kinds of courses he would need will benefit his mindset to become one.
THE NORTH STAR 