Helia Laelnour

About Me

Hi! I’m Helia, someone whose journey into the vast and wondrous world of the sky began with a single movie. When I watched "Interstellar" for the first time, my mind overflowed with questions: What’s really happening up there? How do stars live? Will we ever be able to travel to exoplanets? That was the moment I realized I wanted to know more, to look deeper and understand how the universe works. After that, my path led me to a school with an Olympiad club, and soon I chose to pursue the Astronomy and Astrophysics Olympiad. Those years weren’t just about studying and solving problems; they were a journey inward, a time when I learned that seeing and understanding are, in themselves, forms of joy and peace. Now, I teach with love, because I truly believe the sky isn’t unreachable. Each of us carries traces of the stars within — after all, “we are made of star dust, the product of heavy elements forged in generations of stars.” My goal is to help children look at the sky with curiosity, ask questions, and feel the thrill of discovery, just like I once did :)

Teaching Method

In my astronomy classes, I guide the topics step by step according to the students’ learning levels, starting from the Solar System and the Sun, and gradually moving toward more complex concepts like the life cycle of stars and cosmic structures. The scientific foundation of the lessons is based on the book "An Introduction to Modern Astrophysics", but the way I present each topic is fully adapted to the learner’s level of understanding. For younger children, I use poems, pictures, animations, and stories to make learning more engaging and enjoyable. I try to create a beautiful experience of learning and the sky for my students — one where they feel they’re becoming friends with the universe, not just studying it.

Experience

• National Bronze Medal in the Astronomy and Astrophysics Olympiad, 2023 • Undergraduate Student in Computer Engineering • Teaching Olympiad-level Astrophysics since 2024 • Private and online instructor of Spherical Astronomy • Sky Observation Specialist at Engarium Planetarium, Mashhad (since 2025) • Teaching Assistant for children’s summer astronomy courses at Engarium Planetarium, Mashhad