Some ran, some walked, but all 44 pupils made it to the top of Baldwin St, Northeast Valley, the world's steepest street.
They were chosen from more than 500 year 12 and 13 pupils to attend the 2008 Youth Anzaas (Australian and New Zealand Association for the Advancement of Science) Forum in Dunedin.
The young scientists have a heavy lecture schedule during the week and the climb was a great way to let off some steam and see Dunedin's sights, organiser Debbie Woodhall said.
The pupils all agreed the trip was "awesome, but cold", with Chris Krishna Pillay's Somnium - The Science of Sleep, their favourite event so far.
Otago Girls High School pupil Samantha McNeill (16) said she enjoyed learning about ultrasound and extracting DNA from their own saliva.
"We get to do the kind of stuff we don't learn in school and apply the stuff we do learn to real life," Amy Dwyer (16), from Perth, said.
For Kiri Diack (16), of Invercargill, the best part was "hanging out with like-minded kids who enjoy science, not like at home".
Samantha and Amy agreed and they intended to stay in contact until Kiri returned next year for pre-med studies at Otago. - Keira Stephenson
