Science on Stage Europe
Encyclopedia
The European initiave Science on Stage - initially launched as Physics on Stage in 1999 – is designed for European teachers to share good practice
Best practice
A best practice is a method or technique that has consistently shown results superior to those achieved with other means, and that is used as a benchmark...

 in science
Science
Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe...

 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. Science on Stage Europe believes that a good way to encourage schoolchildren to consider a career in science
Science
Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe...

 or engineering
Engineering
Engineering is the discipline, art, skill and profession of acquiring and applying scientific, mathematical, economic, social, and practical knowledge, in order to design and build structures, machines, devices, systems, materials and processes that safely realize improvements to the lives of...

 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.

Physics on Stage

Organised by EIROforum
Eiroforum
EIROforum is an organization consisting of eight European intergovernmental scientific research organisations devoted to fostering mutual activities...

, a collaboration of European research organisations, the initiative Science on Stage began in 1999 as Physics on Stage (POS) , with financial support from the European Commission
European Commission
The European Commission is the executive body of the European Union. The body is responsible for proposing legislation, implementing decisions, upholding the Union's treaties and the general day-to-day running of the Union....

 [POS was half funded by EIROforum]. EIROforum
Eiroforum
EIROforum is an organization consisting of eight European intergovernmental scientific research organisations devoted to fostering mutual activities...

 launched the initiative to address the decreasing numbers of young physicists. The first Physics on Stage festival was at CERN
CERN
The European Organization for Nuclear Research , known as CERN , is an international organization whose purpose is to operate the world's largest particle physics laboratory, which is situated in the northwest suburbs of Geneva on the Franco–Swiss border...

 in Geneva
Geneva
Geneva In the national languages of Switzerland the city is known as Genf , Ginevra and Genevra is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandie, the French-speaking part of Switzerland...

, Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....

, 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 ESA in Noordwijk
Noordwijk
Noordwijk is a town and municipality in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. The municipality covers an area of 51.53 km² and had a population of 24,707 in May 2006....

, the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...

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

Science on Stage

The members of EIROforum
Eiroforum
EIROforum is an organization consisting of eight European intergovernmental scientific research organisations devoted to fostering mutual activities...

 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 took place in 2005, again at CERN
CERN
The European Organization for Nuclear Research , known as CERN , is an international organization whose purpose is to operate the world's largest particle physics laboratory, which is situated in the northwest suburbs of Geneva on the Franco–Swiss border...

 in Geneva
Geneva
Geneva In the national languages of Switzerland the city is known as Genf , Ginevra and Genevra is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandie, the French-speaking part of Switzerland...

, and the second in 2007 at ESRF/ILL
Ill
Ill may refer to:* Suffering from an illness* Ill , a river in western Austria* Ill , a river in north-eastern France* Illinois, often abbreviated Ill.ILL may stand for:...

 in Grenoble
Grenoble
Grenoble is a city in southeastern France, at the foot of the French Alps where the river Drac joins the Isère. Located in the Rhône-Alpes region, Grenoble is the capital of the department of Isère...

, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

. The format of the Physics on Stage festivals remained and still remains unchanged. In May 2008, the financial support of the European Commission
European Commission
The European Commission is the executive body of the European Union. The body is responsible for proposing legislation, implementing decisions, upholding the Union's treaties and the general day-to-day running of the Union....

 ran out. In March 2009, under the guidance of Stage on Stage Germany 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
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...

, organised by Science on Stage Germany and sponsored by THINK ING., an initiative of the Federation of German Employers‘ Associations in the Metal and Electrical Engineering Industries. The next European Science on Stage festival will take place from 16–19 April 2011 at the Ørestad Gymnasium in Copenhagen
Copenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...

 under the motto “Science Teaching: Winning Hearts and Minds”. 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. The festival for 2013 is already being planned.

Organisation

Science on Stage Europe is organised in a bottom-up
Bottom-up
Bottom-up may refer to:* In business development, a bottom-up approach means that the adviser takes the needs and wishes of the would-be entrepreneur as the starting point, rather than a market opportunity ....

 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. The board is supported by invited experts and by the Science on Stage Europe office, which is temporarily hosted by the Science on Stage Germany office in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...

. 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

  • Austria
  • Belgium
  • Bulgaria
  • Canada
  • Cyprus
  • Czech Republic
  • Denmark
  • Finland
  • France
  • Germany
  • Greece
  • Hungary
  • Ireland
  • Italy
  • Lithuania
  • Luxemburg
  • Malta
  • The Netherlands
  • Norway
  • Poland
  • Portugal
  • Romania
  • Slovakia
  • Spain
  • Sweden
  • Switzerland
  • United Kingdom


Links

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