STEM, art and nature: Portugal's selection for Klaipėda

On October 25 and 26, 2025, the Portuguese National Science on Stage 2025 Festival took place at the Instituto Superior Técnico – Oeiras Campus, in Porto Salvo, Oeiras.

The opening session was conducted by Isabel Borges (Coordinator of Science on Stage Portugal) and Priscila Doran (Vice-president of NUCLIO), and was attended by Maria João Verdasca (Manager of the Engineering for All project and Science Manager at IST – Polo de Oeiras and INESC-ID), Liliana Fernandes (member of the Board of Science on Stage Europe), and Pedro Patacho (Councillor of the Municipality of Oeiras).

At the fair, 25 projects authored by teachers from the most diverse regions of the country were presented. The projects showed the commitment and dedication of the participating teachers. Their interdisciplinary and inquiry-based approaches and topics – many of them with a focus on sustainability – ranged from "Reading for Science" and "The Magic of Light" to "Young Engineers at Work", "Teach English with Science", or "Environmental Monitoring with IoT".

On Sunday, October 26, the fair was open to teachers, students and families from the area. The number of visitors exceeded the organising team's expectations, showing that interest in science and new ways of teaching it is very much alive in the community.

The festival's jury (composed of Ana Costa, David Sousa, Isabel Borges, Leonor Cabral, Liliana Fernandes, Nuno Charneca, Rute Oliveira and Teresa Loureiro) visited all the fair's stands to learn more about each project, then meeting to make the selection. 

The seven projects for the delegation to Klaipėda are:

• Between Sound and Shadow – Art, Light, Sound and Science in Preschool Education – by Cátia Sousa and Nuno Guimarães – Colégio Novo da Maia, Maia – Porto
• Home Weather Kit — by Sérgio Bastos – A. E. de Freixo, Ponte de Lima
• Prairies aren't just in land — by Isadora Girio, Maria Teresa Ribeiro, Sandra Lima and Lívia Marques – E. S. Dom Manuel Martins, Setúbal
• Scientific Visit to the Garden — by Paulo Torcato – A. E. Professor Agostinho da Silva, Casal de Cambra
• Seeds of Memory, Seeds4Future — by Maria Celestina Henriques – A. E. Bartolomeu de Gusmão, Lisbon; Mónica Maia-Mendes – A. E. de Ermesinde; Ilda Moreira – A. E. de Valongo
• STEAM on the move — by Elisabete Marques – A. E. Dona Filipa de Lencastre, Lisbon
• Teach English with Science. Why? — by Sandra Vasconcelos – A. E. Pedro Eanes Lobato, Amora, Seixal

To learn more about each selected project as well as the other particpants' presentations, see the posters in the Virtual Fair and browse the photo gallery on Science on Stage Portugal's website.