The European initiave Science on Stage - initially launched as Physics on Stage in 1999 – is designed for European teachers to share

good practice GxP is a general abbreviation for the "good practice" quality guidelines and regulations. The "x" stands for the various fields, including the pharmaceutical and food industries, for example good agricultural practice, or GAP. A "c" or "C" is ...

science Science is a systematic endeavor that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe. Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earliest archeological evidence for ...

teaching and to discuss (new) ways of improving the quality of science lessons. This is driven by the foreseen lack of young scientists in all

European countries The list below includes all entities falling even partially under any of the various common definitions of Europe, geographical or political. Fifty generally recognised sovereign states, Kosovo with limited, but substantial, international reco ...

. Science on Stage Europe believes that a good way to encourage schoolchildren to consider a career in

engineering Engineering is the use of scientific method, scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad rang ...

is to motivate and educate their teachers. Therefore, Science on Stage Europe provides a forum for science teachers to exchange teaching ideas and gives them access to science teaching resources.

History

Physics on Stage

Organised by EIROforum, a collaboration of European research organisations, the initiative Science on Stage began in 1999 as Physics on Stage (POS),Physics on Stage
official website of the Physics on Stage festival 2000. with financial support from the

European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the executive of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with 27 members of the Commission (informally known as "Commissioners") headed by a President. It includes an administrative body o ...

OS was half funded by EIROforum EIROforum launched the initiative to address the decreasing numbers of young physicists. The first Physics on Stage festival was at

CERN The European Organization for Nuclear Research, known as CERN (; ; ), is an intergovernmental organization that operates the largest particle physics laboratory in the world. Established in 1954, it is based in a northwestern suburb of Gene ...

Geneva Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaki ...

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

, in 2000. Over the course of an inspiring week, more than 500 teachers from 22 countries shared activities and projects in a fair, in workshops, in performances and in presentations showed that physics can be fun. On the back of this success, Physics on Stage 2 was arranged in 2002 at

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Noordwijk Noordwijk () is a town and municipality in the west of the Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. The municipality covers an area of of which is water and had a population of in . On 1 January 2019, the former municipality of Noordwij ...

, the

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. Physics on Stage 3 followed a year later at the same location.

Science on Stage

The members of EIROforum soon realised that the lack of young scientists was not limited to the field of physics, so the initiative was broadened to cover all sciences and renamed Science on Stage. The first Science on Stage festival Science on Stage festival 2005
official website. took place in 2005, again at

, and the second in 2007 at

ESRF The European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF) is a joint research facility situated in Grenoble, France, supported by 22 countries (13 member countries: France, Germany, Italy, the UK, Spain, Switzerland, Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark, ...

ILL ILL may refer to: * ''I Love Lucy'', a landmark American television sitcom * Illorsuit Heliport (location identifier: ILL), a heliport in Illorsuit, Greenland * Institut Laue–Langevin, an internationally financed scientific facility * Interlibrar ...

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France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. The format of the Physics on Stage festivals remained and still remains unchanged. In May 2008, the financial support of the

ran out. In March 2009, under the guidance of Stage on Stage Germany Science on Stage Germany
official website. the 27 European countries involved unanimously affirmed their wish to continue the cooperation. All participants stressed the importance of regular European festivals as the flagship of the European Science on Stage activities. Alternative funding would be sought for the festivals. In October 2008, the first of these alternatively funded Science on Stage festivals took place at Urania in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

, organised by Science on Stage Germany and sponsored by THINK ING.,THINK ING.
official website. an initiative of the Federation of German Employers‘ Associations in the Metal and Electrical Engineering Industries. The second alternatively funded European Science on Stage festival took place from 16–19 April 2011 at the Ørestad Gymnasium Ørestad Gymnasium
upper secondary school in Copenhagen, Denmark. in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

under the motto “Science Teaching: Winning Hearts and Minds”. It was funded by the Danish Ministry of Education and organised by Danish Science Communication and the Science on Stage Europe office. The next Science on Stage festival will take place from 25–28 April 2013 in Slubice and Frankfurt/Oder at the German-Polish border. For the first time, the festival will be organised by two countries, represented by the Adam Mickiewicz University in Poland and Science on Stage Germany, under the motto “Crossing Borders in Science Teaching”. 350 science teachers from across Europe will present their most innovative teaching ideas, workshops and performances. Participants are chosen at competitive national events or processes in each country involved.

Organisation

Initially launched as an initiative in 2008, Science on Stage Europe became an officially registered

non-profit association A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

in January 2012, with headquarters in Berlin and recognised by German law. Science on Stage Europe is organised in a bottom-up structure. The basis is the Science on Stage community in the participating countries. Each country has a national steering committee (NSC). The NSCs get together in the Science on Stage assembly and elect the

executive board A board of directors (commonly referred simply as the board) is an executive committee that jointly supervises the activities of an organization, which can be either a for-profit or a nonprofit organization such as a business, nonprofit organiz ...

. The board is supported by invited

experts An expert is somebody who has a broad and deep understanding and competence in terms of knowledge, skill and experience through practice and education in a particular field. Informally, an expert is someone widely recognized as a reliable so ...

and by the Science on Stage Europe office in

. The Science on Stage international festivals take place every two years, as the culmination of all the national Science on Stage activities. The festivals are organised jointly by a European festival programme committee and a national organising committee.

The countries involved

* Science on Stage Austria
official website. * Science on Stage Belgium
official website. * * Science on Stage Canada
official website. * * Science on Stage Czech Republic
official website. * Science on Stage Denmark @ Dansk Naturvidenskabsformidling
website. * * * * * * Science on Stage Ireland
official website. * Science on Stage Italy
official website. * * * * * * Nauki Przyrodnicze na Scenie - Science on Stage Poland
/ref> * * * Science on Stage Slovakia
/ref> * * Science on Stage Spain @ Ciencia en Acción
website. * Science on Stage Sweden @ Vetenskapens Hus
website. * *

References

{{Reflist, 2

External links

Science on Stage Europe, official website

Article in Science in School magazine, Issue 13

Article in Science in School magazine, Issue 16
Education in Europe Internet forums Science education