#sons2024: German projects selected

38 invited projects, over 140 guests on the Open Day, Science on Stage jury members and volunteers – throughout the three-day German Science on Stage festival between 29th of September and 1st of October, the bright and spacious halls of the University of Bayreuth, the generous hosts for the event, were filled with animated chatter, presentations and debates.

After a festive opening attended by guests and partners and a welcome message by Bettina Stark-Watzinger, the Federal Minister of Education and Research, the attendees and jury members browsed the fair where 38 invitees presented their innovative projects and tools for STEM teaching. The forum was complemented by information booths of partners and other STEM initiatives and networks as well as an info truck on training and career opportunities in the metals and electrical industries. On the 30th of September, dozens of Open Day guests joined the event to exchange ideas and inspiration for teaching, listen to the project pitches in the main auditorium and attend brainstorming sessions or workshops. A full and exciting day which the participants and Science on Stage team ended in style, dining in a Bavarian brewery and restaurant in town.

At the closing event, the winners of the national competition were announced: eleven teachers or teacher teams from the states of Baden-Wuerttemberg, Bavaria, Berlin, Bremen, Hesse, Lower Saxony, and Saxony were selected for the German delegation to the European Science on Stage festival in Turku in 2024, with projects ranging from an innovative escape game about an energy-self-sufficient village of the future to an open source physics lab, from an ESD-themed park race to a “Future Congress” organised by students, from developing pinhole camera photographs with coffee to experimenting with CRISPR/Cas9, and much more.

Congratulations to all winners and runners-up and a big thank you to all participants, partners and guests for contributing to a hugely successful festival!