Science on Stage UK

From teachers, for teachers - The European Science Teacher Network across 36 countries

What is Science on Stage?

Science on Stage provides a European platform for science and STEM teachers to exchange teaching concepts and to share ideas. The aim of the initiative is to advance science and STEM teaching by creating a platform for science teachers’ creativity.

Selected teachers and technicians from each country come together for an international festival every two years. At each festival, delegates showcase their winning projects to others from across Europe. They make up the Science on Stage network, sharing good practice and teaching ideas to help raise the overall quality of STEM teaching.

Since 1st January 2019, the Association for Science Education (ASE) has hosted the UK's National Steering Committee (NSC) for Science on Stage UK. The ASE is responsible for organising the UK presence at events, supporting the dissemination of practice from the European festivals, and enabling networking with teachers from other countries.

At each festival, an international jury selects the best projects and award the European STEM Teacher Awards.

When is the next festival?

The next European Science on Stage festival (#SonS2024) will take place from 12th to 15th August 2024 in Turku, Finland. UK teachers from primary and secondary levels will be selected to present their teaching ideas and approaches. Each festival has several guiding themes - for 2024 the themes for all projects are:

Science for the Youngest (projects for early years and primary school)
STEM Education for Sustainable Development (projects that show how STEM can contribute to achieving the SDGs)
Digital Technologies in STEM education (projects involving coding, ICT, big data, AI, VR, network security, etc.)
Diversity in STEM Education (projects including the variability of teaching methods, for talented students, for inclusive learning, cooperation between younger and older students etc.)
STEAM in Education (e.g. projects combining STEM with other disciplines – i.e. arts, music, sports, history, etc.)
Low-Cost Experiments in STEM Education (e.g. projects involving practical work with low-cost and everyday materials)
STEM for Teachers in Training (e.g. projects for teachers during initial teacher education)
Joint projects (projects developed in collaboration, between teachers from different countries, at least one of whom participated in a previous Science on Stage festival

How are UK projects and delegates selected?

The UK’s most creative and passionate STEM teachers are selected via application and reviewed by the Science on Stage UK panel. The successful applicants will represent the UK as part of the 450 educators who attend the festival.

The ideal Science on Stage project:

promotes students interest in science,
refers to everyday life,
has a sustainable effect,
is feasible in everyday school life and can be financed with reasonable expenses,
promotes inquiry-based learning.

The closing date for applications to attend the next Festival was 15 July 2023. Eleven delegates have now been selected to represent the UK in Turku, Finland in August 2024.

The Science on Stage UK National Steering Committee

Science on Stage activities within the UK, and the UK’s participation in Science on Stage activities internationally is overseen by a small volunteer committee. It consists of:

Stuart Farmer (Chair)
Adrian Allan
Emma Crisell
Frances Evans
David Featonby
Kulvinder Johal
Paul Tyler

You can view the full terms of reference document in the files section at the bottom of the page.

About the Science on Stage Network

Founded in 2000, there are currently 36 participating countries in Science on Stage:

Albania, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Netherlands, North Macedonia, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom.

Take a look at previous festivals Festivals | Science On Stage Europe (science-on-stage.eu)

2022 Prague, Czechia

2019 Cascais Portugal

2017 Debrecen, Hungary

2015 London, United Kingdom

For queries please email conferences@ase.org.uk