he Dutch Astronomy Olympiad is an annual competition for high school students interested in physics and astronomy. The Olympiad is alternately organized by one of the astronomical institutes of the universities of Amsterdam, Groningen, Leiden and Nijmegen. Those four institutes together form the Dutch Research School for Astronomy (NOVA).

This year's Dutch Astronomy Olympiad was organized by the astronomers of the Anton Pannekoek Institute for Astronomy at the University of Amsterdam. In April and May, all students from 5 havo and 5 and 6 vwo could download the preliminary round questions from astronomy-olympiade.nl. On June 14, 15 and 16 there was a program for the best entrants with lectures, tutorials, guided tours, fun activities and of course with the final questions.

During the final days, participants received master classes from astronomers, went on field trips and visited a planetarium show at Artis. On June 16, the finals concluded with a 90-minute exam with the grand prize being a trip to La Palma. The second prize was a telescope, offered by sponsor Ganymedes in Amstelveen. All participants were also offered a free membership to the youth working group on behalf of one of the sponsors, the Royal Dutch Society for Weather and Astronomy.