Science on Stage Europe

Science on Stage Europe is an European project that aims to collect and disseminate the best of innovative, challenging aims in Europe for the dissemination of knowledge and for the renewal of teaching in the field of experimental science. It is the natural continuation of Science on Stage 1 and 2, held at in Geneva and Grenoble.

The first edition of the Science on Stage has been expired. It was funded by the European Union and organized by the major European research centers grouped in EIROFORUM (CERN, EFDA-JET, EMBL, ESA, ESO, ESRF, and ILL), the National Steerings Committees of European countries, decided to make a new Association aimed to organize a new edition of the project. Its name is Science on Stage Europe.

Past editions have been a great success, bringing hundreds of delegates from all countries in contact with major European centers of scientific research. Past editions have also facilitated the exchange of proposals for innovative teaching and training in science. The efficacy and relapse training for participants has also been certified by external bodies and several international initiatives have sprung up: Science in School is the most important of them, followed by many cultural exchanges between teachers and various meetings.

The realization of the project is coordinated by an International Committee composed by delegates of national promoters and by an Executive Board that takes care of organizational aspects.

In Italy, the project is promoted by AIF, ANISN, DD/SCI, the Italian committee of EAAE, the EMBL-ILL, the INAF (observatory of Padova), INFN, and the Department of Physics of the Unuversity of Milan.

The goals of the program are:

• to realize an European festival that will take place in Slubice/Frankfurt Oder (organized by Poland and Germany) from April 25th to April 28th 2013;
• to stimulate the dissemination of educational material and techniques;
• to highlight techniques aimed to enhance the quality of teaching science;
• to extend the European network of science teachers;

The project is aimed at teachers (from kindergardens to secondary schools/high schools), students and researchers.

27 countries are involved (Austria, Belgium, Bulgary, Canada, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Holland, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and United Kingdom). The Italian Delegation will be composed by 12 delegates.

The Italian activities aimed to organize the European festival are coordinated by the NSC whose goals are:

• 1. to disseminate the job advertisement of the project;
• 2. to identify initiatives at national or local level, covering innovative and effective teaching strategies and involving teachers motivated to participate in the project. More details will be published in this website;
• 3. to organize a national event aimed to select the delegates for the final event;
• 4. to support the participation of delegates at the final event.

The final European event will consist of:

• a fair where each country will show by exhibits the best of innovative teaching of teachers of primary and secondary schools;
• on stage shows, where the wonder of experimental science is presented in spectacular fashion and fun;
• parallel workshops and masterclasses on topics relevant to the teaching of science (duration: about 50 minutes). In the workshop sessions, participants develop and discuss educational topics; in the masterclass sessions new educational methods are shown and discussed with short presentations (duration: about 30 minutes).