July 31st, 2007 23:30 CET

Monday slowly ended and there was Tuesday already – the day of parting. We wanted to forget that some of us would leave just in a matter of hours, so we danced the night away, made a lot of photos together, wrote tiny letters to each other, exchaned e-mail addresses … But soon the clock showed 5 AM and teams from Cyprus and Latvia had to leave. It was difficult to say goodbye and everyone was sad and wanted to lengthen their stay at Kovk.

However, there is something that needs to be mentioned. When these two teams were already boarded on the plane at Brnik and were flying for about 10 minutes, they had to return and land due to some technical problems. But everything ended alright and all participants and their leaders arrived at Vienna safely.

Back to Kovk: after they left Slovenians and Bulgarians went to sleep to gather some strength that was needed later in the day. Another sad leaving was before us, but we (Slovenians) supposed that there was a funky journey to Ljubljana, because of the van driver, Bojan. After the ride the team went to Slovenian Museum of Natural History and then spent some time shopping before taking the train that led them back to Bulgaria.

The Slovenian team stayed at Kovk for another day and helped to clean everything – the house and all the stuff that was needed during the camp.

We could say that the camp was more than successful – we learned many new things and got to know many new friends and we hope that we will meet each other again, once in the future.

July 30th, 2007 23:45 CET

Another exciting day after a really busy day and a lively night. Getting up at 7 AM was indeed difficult but we all managed to catch the bus and leave for Ljubljana and Bled. Unfortunately the weather wasn’t on our side so it started to rain soon after our arrival to the capital city, Ljubljana. We saw many interesting buildings and monuments there and bought many goods as well since we had 2 hours that were meant for shopping exclusively.

Next was lunch and we ate fried turkey and pommes frittes. Portions were really big but we ate most of the food. After the meal we went to Bled. First we visited the castle and its special rooms and then we glided on boats to the island and rang the big wishing bell in the church and attended a small exhibition of traditional Slovene clothes. We returned to the solid ground afterwards and traveled back home.

And so our camp has come to its end. Before our guests go away, we will spend as much time as possible talking and hanging out in order to use well our last moments together, exchanging e-mail addresses and phone numbers and taking last photos together.

We had a lot of fun and we just can’t imagine everything is going to end so soon…

July 29th, 2007 23:55 CET

Today we got up one hour earlier than usual. Reason: the trip to Škocjan caves and sightseeing of Ajdovščina. We saw many fascinating things in the caves which we didn’t expect. The town on the other side of the hill (Ajdovščina) was nice as well, but we would have seen more if we weren’t so tired from the previous night and the journey. After sightseeing we went to a restaurant called Pigal and ate delicious pizzas. After that we returned to Kovk and prepared all the posters and chosen experiments to show at the exhibition. Finally, people started to come and we slowly began with the presentation. Members from each country were singing a song they had chosen beforehand and then we showed everything we prepared. The exhibition was very successful and we were all satisfied. Later in the evening we danced in a special disco which was located in one of the house’s rooms and we danced the evening away. :-)


And now something completely different …

A Very Short Questionnaire

What do staff members do in their free time?
a) they sleep and do nothing at all
b) they are angry because they actually don’t have free time
c) they go to buy things the camp urgently needs and chase parents’ car


The correct answer is c) – that’s what happens when you don’t have what you need and you forget to mention to your parents that you won’t be at the arranged place at the camp and have no chance of calling (they don’t answer) save for chasing them on the road to Kovk. :-) (Oooooh yes, that happened to Nina!)

July 28th, 2007 23:45 CET

Today's activities were fun just like every day. The topic for the morning workshops was aerodynamics. All the participants were divided into four groups and each one had to make something:  a hot air balloon, a sailing boat, a wind tunnel and research on air flow. Everything each group made was presented to all the participants later in the day.

After lunch we had a special free time activity which wasn't planned at all – showering in a very special way. We were pouring cold water on each other from every imaginable water container; from plastic tubes to water balloons! At first there was only a bunch of Slovenians who played this »game« but soon others joined in the fun as well. It was a lot of fun (except for the cleaning session afterwards). :-)

In the afternoon we wrote reports about our experiments and made huge and colourful posters about topics of our activities.

Soon the afternoon passed into the evening and so began the match for first place in our volleyball tournament. It was really exciting but it was only the beginning. The finals started right after an extraordinary dinner - pommes frittes and fried chicken (it was delicious, everyone would agree!). Finally we got the winning team »D«. They received a special prize – a biiiig chocolate called Gorenjka. Others got chocolates as well but theirs were smaller. Then Žiga (one of the staff members) told us in short the Slovenian history and with this the official program ended.

Tomorrow will be another exciting day for we are going to visit Škocjan caves and town Ajdovščina and prepare ourselves for the exhibition. It's going to be a long day!

Pictures will follow tomorrow.

Until next time,
Participants and staff members of the camp

July 27th, 2007 22:30 CET

Water is all around us. So why not try to make it clean? We grabbed a few things like charcoal, cotton wool, empty plastic bottles, stands and glass and started to filtrate it, distill it and clean it with active charcoal, but unfortunately the last task wasn’t successful.

In the afternoon we were learned about breathing and everything connected to it. We made a model of the lungs, spyrometer and diffusion.

In the evening we talked about environmental problems and everything that concerns polution and Earth.

More news will come tomorrow!

July 26th, 2007 22:30 CET

Today was a special day. Our first activity was about ballistics and we were shooting with an air gun to calculate the velocity of the bullet and the size of the forces that were present. We also learned about its history. After that we made very creative posters about gases, ballistics, pharmacy and astronomy.

We also lit a camp fire in the evening and sang many songs while the guitar was playing.

July 26th, 2007 22:00 CET

Interviews

Name and surname: Andrej Turk
Country: Slovenia

How do you like it here on the Camp?
So far it’s been very interesting. Keep it up.

Which topic did you like the most? Which experiment?
Gasology. The one that included freezing and breaking a rose.

Who was the first foreigner you have talked with on the camp for more than 10 minutes? Where is he/she from?
Anastas, the Bulgarian.

What message would you like to send to your friends reading this web page?
Hope you’re having enough fun. I certainly am. :-)




Name and surname: Rosita Kokotanekova
Country: Bulgaria

How do you like it here on the Camp?
It’s great here! I didn’t expect so much. The place is perfect as well as our activities; and people here also make me feel good, because they’re bright and amusing.

Which topic did you like the most? Which experiment?
I liked gasology, because it’s something I’d never do in Bulgaria. I liked the experiment with the banana, which Tadej did and also the other tasks. Oh, I liked Pharmacy too and it would have been my favourite if it wasn’t that windy. :-)

Who was the first foreigner you have talked with on the camp for more than 10 minutes? Where is he/she from?
I think it was Bor from Slovenia, during our day in Slovenia when Slovenians had to have a walk with us in Ljubljana. Unfortunately, we’re still having only some short conversations with the others.

What message would you like to send to your friends reading this web page?
I’d like them to read: “It’s so surprisingly good and funny that I have to confess that I hardly think of you and miss you!” I hope they’ll understand that it’s good for me to feel so... :-)




Name and surname: Esin Gurpinar
Country: Cyprus

How do you like it here on the Camp?
Everything’s OK.

Which topic did you like the most? Which experiment?
Gases. Helium experiment. :-)

Who was the first foreigner you have talked with on the camp for more than 10 minutes? Where is he/she from?
Bor from Slovenia.

What message would you like to send to your friends reading this web page?
I love you!




Name and surname: Kristaps Hercs
Country: Latvia

How do you like it here on the Camp?
I really like it here because the people are nice and it’s nice to meet them here. Organization is very good too, so I didn’t have any problems yet. Only last night in observatory was a bit long but I learned new things there.

Which topic did you like the most? Which experiment?
The most I liked gases and ballistics, and experiment with liquid nitrogen.

Who was the first foreigner you have talked with on the camp for more than 10 minutes? Where is he/she from?
First were the participants from Slovenia and Cyprus.

What message would you like to send to your friends reading this web page?
I would like to send good wishes to all! Otherwise I’d like that all of us spend a nice and good time here and of course to learn something new too. And to meet new friends. :-)

July 25th, 2007 22:30 CET

Everyone finally settled down and everything is going according to plans. The first activity of the day was about farmaceutical dosage forms. Its aim was to make two 1-dose powders and to understand how the medicines are made.

After lunch we started a volleyball tournament which will last until Saturday when we will get the overall champion. Wish us good luck! :-)

Soon after the tournament we had to depart to the astronomical observatory Lipe located on a mountain called Nanos. First we observed the sky by day and some hours later after the sunset we watched the sky at night through the telescopes. We returned to Kovk at 2 AM and went to sleep right away.

P.S.: Make sure to check out new pictures in the Photo-gallery.

Until next time,
Participants and staff members of the camp

July 24th, 2007 21:00 CET

All the participants were tired yesterday after such a long journey but still they managed to make some new acquaintances before they went to sleep. After a quick meal they went to their rooms and played cards, listened to music, hung out with others… or just went to sleep.

We woke up at 10 AM and how sweet were our dreams! We had breakfast and anyone could eat anything they liked. After that our first activities began. First we played some social games through which the participants got to know each other better.

When these games ended, they found themselves in a true science adventure. They listened to a fun and very interesting Gasology presentation provided by the House of experiments, the first Slovenian hands-on science center. There was a bunch of gases prepared for our young scientists to discover!

When the Gasology lecture continued, we were experimenting and making gases such as oxide, carbon dioxide and hydrogen. It was really exciting, especially when we started to talk like Donald Duck because of helium. :-)

In the evening each country presented itself, the traditions and customs of its nation, and of course the traditional foods. It was very diverse and everyone learned different things about other nations and their countries.

The next update will come tomorrow (also pictures for the Photo-gallery).

July 23rd, 2007 23:30 CET

Hi, živio, čau, merhaba, zdravei!

We woke up early in the morning in order to depart to Ljubljana as our first guests (the Bulgarians) were about to arrive. Unfortunately their train was delayed for a couple of hours and so we met each other around 1 PM. But no worries, we are safe and sound so there is nothing to worry about.

We all were a little bit tired when the Bulgarians were finally at the end of their journey but also enthusiastic and we just couldn’t wait for the arrival of the Latvian team and the team from Cyprus. To make the hours run faster we went to explore the capital city Ljubljana.

Soon it was time for the other two teams to land at Brnik airport and now they are on their way to Kovk, the place where we will be staying one week.

Tomorrow is the day when the activities start and also the day which will bring more news about us.

Until next time,
All the participants and the staff from the Camp of natural sciences.

July 23rd, 2007 23:00 CET

All the participants have arrived safely and settled in the camp. More news about the activities will follow tomorrow.

July 8th, 2007 13:00 CET

This is a Camp on natural sciences webpage. Camp on natural sciences is a youth exchange of four partner groups from Slovenia, Latvia, Bolgaria and Cyprus.

It’s main purpose is to report on our activities in pictures and text. Every day you will be able to see new pictures and read our comments.

The first blog will be published on July 23rd, 2007 when we start our “trip” through scientific experiments.