The 13th European Science on Stage festival took place from 12-15 August 2024 in Turku, Finland. At the Science on Stage festival, 450 primary and secondary school teachers from all over Europe shared their most creative STEM ideas at stands, in workshops, and in highlight sessions. Participants were selected through competitive national events in over 30 countries.The theme of the festival was Sustainability in STEM Education. More information on the 2024 festival can be found here.

Irish Delegation

• Alan Casey, Colaiste an Chroi Naofa Cork, “From Static to Light – Let’s illuminate the charge”.
• Declan Cathcart, Temple Carrig School, Wicklow, SonS National Steering Committee Ireland.
• Denis McCarthy, Hazelwood College Limerick, “Building STEM Connections: Play well, Inquire well”.
• Jane Shimizu, Scoil Chaitríona Junior, Galway, “Looking after our oceans”.
• Máire Duffy, Clonkeen College, SonS National Steering Committee Ireland & Team Lead.
• Paul Nugent, Santa Sabina, SonS National Steering Committee Ireland & SonS Board Member.
• Sean Kelleher, Coliaste Choilm Swords, Dublin, SonS National Steering Committee Ireland.
• Sinead Kelly, St. Olivers Community College, Drogheda, SonS National Steering Committee Ireland.
• Tracey Mason, St Mary’s CBS Carlow, ” The power of lichens and moss”.
• Veronica Ward, Dublin 7 Educate Together, ”How does your garden grow? With green practices and sustainability!”

Guiding themes

All projects presented in the festival present inquiry-based learning approaches.

• STEM for the Youngest: Projects to promote STEM in elementary school for kids, 10 years or younger
• STEM Education for Sustainable Development: Projects that contribute to the achievement of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals
• Digital Technologies in STEM Education: Projects on programming, digital education, ICT, Big Data, artificial intelligence, virtual reality, etc.
• Diversity in STEM Teaching: Projects that reflect the heterogeneity and diversity of our society, e.g. teaching methods that engage students with different learning levels or different cultural backgrounds.
• STEAM in Education: Projects combining natural science with other disciplines, e.g. science, technology, engineering or mathematics with arts, music, sports, history, etc.
• Low-Cost Experiments in STEM Education: Projects that are low-cost to implement
• Joint Projects: Projects developed collaboratively by teachers who have met at one of the past Science on Stage events (e.g., festival, webinar, professional development, network meeting, project)
• STEM for Teachers in Training: Projects that have been developed during pre-service teacher training or teacher traineeship

Science on Stage Ireland

Science on Stage in Ireland is organised by CASTeL at Dublin City University and supported by Science on Stage Europe and the Professional Development Service for Teachers in Ireland.

Further information on Science on Stage in Ireland can be found at: http://www.scienceonstage.ie/ or please contact Dr. Eilish McLoughlin, Chair National Steering Committee Science on Stage Ireland,  E: eilish.mcloughlin@dcu.ie