Sombrero, whirlpool, tadpole and sea shell.
These unofficial names of galaxies are just one element of astronomy kids explore at Astronomy: Discover the Universe camp at Capilano University.
Instructor Stanley Greenspoon says participants learn about astronomy by having fun, playing games and building things.
"It's a camp, it isn't a course, so the kids have to have fun, they have to have fun and they do," he explains. "They have fun and learn at the same time, which I think is the way kids should learn and maybe everybody should learn."
Greenspoon has been leading the astronomy camp for eight years and says he enjoys watching the kids get interested in astronomy. Some already have a strong interest in the subject but for many the spark is newly ignited.
"For me it's sort of hard to believe that a child isn't interested in the universe," says Greenspoon, who is also on the sciences faculty at the school. "I'm still amazed and I've been doing this for so many years."
Guessing the unofficial names of galaxies based on what they look like, such as a sombrero, is a popular game at this camp, and so is learning about the distances between planets.
Greenspoon explains that many pictures of our solar system show the planets evenly spaced apart, but in fact they are not really like that in space.
The inner planets are all squashed near the sun relative to the outer planets. Up to Mars they're very close to the sun and then Jupiter and Saturn and Uranus and Neptune are much farther, explains Greenspoon.
One exercise he enjoys doing with the kids is taking them outside and pacing off the distances between planets by using markers in a field so campers get a better sense of the real distances from the planets to the sun.
"I try to indicate to them the vastness of space and all the different kinds of galaxies," says Greenspoon of the overall curriculum of the camp.
Each day, campers also make something that they can bring home, such as a telescope, a sun dial, a star finder, or a celestial sphere.
Campers also get their hands on software that simulates using a large telescope and lets the kids play the role of being a real astronomer and take photos of faraway galaxies.
"I think kids are naturally curious," says Greenspoon.
That curiosity lends itself well to the subject of astronomy. "You look up at the sky and you see the stars and you wonder what's going on in the universe."
Visit the Capilano University website for more information about this summer camp.
This story originally appeared in the North Shore News special section called Summer Camps, which highlights various North Shore camps for kids.
