Science on Stage Festival 2026

Guiding Themes 

All projects represent inquiry-based learning approaches.

• STEM for the Youngest: Projects promoting STEM in primary schools for children aged 10 and under
• STEM Education for Sustainable Development: Projects that contribute to the achievement of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals
• AI in STEM Education: Projects that demonstrate ways to integrate AI into the classroom and promote understanding of AI
• Career Orientation in STEM Education: Projects that demonstrate good practice in integrating career orientation into regular STEM education
• Equity and Inclusion in STEM Education: 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
• Self-directed Learning in STEM Education: Projects that demonstrate approaches where the teacher acts as a facilitator, e.g. in a digital learning environment, or that can be useful in addressing teacher shortages
• Low-Cost Experiments in STEM Education: Projects that can be implemented at low-cost 

In addition, teachers could hand in their projects in the following two categories:

• Joint Projects: Projects developed collaboratively by teachers, at least one of whom has participated in Science on Stage activity.
• STEM for Teachers in Training: Projects developed during pre-service teacher training or student teacher placements

The guiding themes structure the fair.

A glimpse into a festival

Would you like to know what to expect at a festival? Here you can get a sneak peek:

Programme 

• Fair: The fair is the main element of the festival, where all the participants show their projects and experiments at stands
• Workshops: Workshops are interactive hands-on sessions from teachers for teachers
• Highlight Sessions: At the highlight sessions, selected participants present their ideas on stage
• Forum: Exhibitions made by partners, e. g. companies, organisations, foundations
• Social Events: Throughout the festival there are networking activities, excursions, evening receptions

Application criteria and jury

The teachers taking part in our festival are selected by the National Steering Committee in their country. Those teachers present their projects in a stand at the fair.

An ideal Science on Stage project: 

• is from teachers for teachers, 
• promotes inquiry-based learning, 
• has a high relevance to everyday life 
• is easy to implement in everyday school life and can be financed with reasonable means
• promotes education for sustainable development (ESD)

Joint Projects

Besides the regular national STEM teacher delegations, there are several additional places at the European Science on Stage festivals for teachers offering internationally developed projects - the so-called 'Joint Projects'.

Organisational aspects
In case your Joint Project is selected for the participation in the European Science on Stage festival SonSEu will support your participation with max. €400.00 per project (to be reimbursed after the festival). Access to festival, accommodation, food is covered for the duration of the festival as well.

Prerequisites
You need to be schoolteachers (e.g., pre-primary, primary, secondary. University, college, and research institution teachers / researchers are not eligible.)
At least one of you has attended a Science on Stage festival as delegate.

Application procedure
Please fill in the application forms part I and II and send the application to info@science-on-stage.eu by 14 September 2025. Additional material can be sent separately as attachment. The board of Science on Stage Europe will decide about the participation of Joint Projects in the Science on Stage festival 2026 in autumn 2025.

Download application form part I
Download application form part II

The application deadline for the Joint Projects is 14 September 2025.