Science on Stage Festival 2024
The 13th European Science on Stage festival took place from 12-15 August 2024 in Turku, Finland.
450 primary and secondary school teachers from all over Europe shared their most creative STEM ideas at stands, in workshops, and in highlight sessions. Participants were chosen through competitive national events in over 30 countries.
To visit the official website of the European festival 2024, please click here.
Get an overview of the information on this page:
- Guiding Themes
- A glimpse into a festival
- Programme
- Application criteria and jury
- Joint Projects
Guiding Themes
All projects represent inquiry-based learning approaches.
- STEM for the Youngest: Projects to promote STEM in elementary school for kids, 10 years or younger
- STEM Education for Sustainable Development: Projects that contribute to the achievement of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals
- Digital Technologies in STEM Education: Projects on programming, digital education, ICT, Big Data, artificial intelligence, virtual reality, etc.
- Diversity in STEM Teaching: Projects that reflect the heterogeneity and diversity of our society, e.g. teaching methods that engage students with different learning levels or different cultural backgrounds.
- STEAM in Education: Projects combining natural science with other disciplines, e.g. science, technology, engineering or mathematics with arts, music, sports, history, etc.
- Low-Cost Experiments in STEM Education: Projects that are low-cost to implement
In addition, teachers could hand in their projects in the following two categories:
- Joint Projects: Projects developed collaboratively by teachers of whom at least one participated at a European Science on Stage festival
- STEM for Teachers in Training: Projects that have been developed during pre-service teacher training or teacher traineeship
The guiding themes structured the fair.
A glimpse into a festival
Would you like to know what to expect at a festival? Here you can get a sneak peek:
Programme
- Fair: The fair is the main element of the festival, where all the participants show their projects and experiments at stands
- Workshops: Workshops are interactive hands-on sessions from teachers for teachers
- Highlight Sessions: At the highlight sessions, selected participants present their ideas on stage
- Forum: Exhibitions made by partners, e. g. companies, organisations, foundations
- Social Events: Throughout the festival there are networking activities, excursions, evening receptions
Application criteria and jury
The teachers taking part in our festival were selected by the National Steering Committee in their country. Those teachers presented their projects in a stand at the fair.
An ideal Science on Stage project:
- is from teachers for teachers,
- promotes inquiry-based learning,
- has a high relevance to everyday life
- is easy to implement in everyday school life and can be financed with reasonable means
- promotes education for sustainable development (ESD)
Teachers who present additionally their projects in a workshop were selected by the international festival jury, which consisted of science teachers, educators or representatives from ministries or universities. All board members of Science on Stage Europe were also involved.
The UNESCO describes ESD as follows:
"ESD gives learners of all ages the knowledge, skills, values and agency to address interconnected global challenges including climate change, loss of biodiversity, unsustainable use of resources, and inequality. It empowers learners of all ages to make informed decisions and take individual and collective action to change society and care for the planet. ESD is a lifelong learning process and an integral part of quality education. It enhances the cognitive, socio-emotional and behavioural dimensions of learning and encompasses learning content and outcomes, pedagogy and the learning environment itself. “ What you need to know about education for sustainable development | UNESCO
All Science on Stage projects should encourage students towards active sustainable citizenship.
To promote ESD the project does not have to have one of the SDGs as a main focus (but can of course). It is not essential that projects cover all aspects but rather, that the teachers have implemented at least one of these aspects:
- The chosen topic is looked at from different perspectives, e.g. it could be interdisciplinary (STEM, STEAM).
→ Students explore how different disciplines, subjects, etc. can work together. This is important to find sustainable solutions for the challenges we face. - The project looks at one or more of the three dimensions of sustainability: environment, society and economy
→ Apart from including environmental aspects, the project could e.g. promote diversity in STEM, involve the community, encourage students to explore entrepreneurship, look at how the discussed STEM topic is presented in the public discussion, explore the impact of the discussed science on society and/or technology, … The aim is for students to develop the skills to recognise and discuss STEM topics in a wider context. - The project promotes critical thinking, problem-solving skills and teamwork.
→ Students gain confidence in finding solutions for challenges and agency. This is important concerning the anxiety often connected to sustainability challenges. - Students explore how the topic of the project is directly connected to one or more of the SDGs.
→ Depending on the circumstances, this is not always possible. So even though it is the most obvious way to promote ESD, it is not the only possible way.
Joint Projects
Besides the regular national STEM teacher delegations, there are several additional places at the European Science on Stage festivals for teachers offering internationally developed projects - the so-called 'Joint Projects'.
The application phase for the Joint Projects is closed.
Patronage
Under the patronage of the Commissioner Ms Iliana Ivanova, Member of the European Commission responsible for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth.
