Science on Stage Bulgaria: Webinar about how to participate in the national event

The National Steering (NSC) and Local Organizing Committee of “Science of Stage Bulgaria” officially announced that the 9th edition of the national festival will be held from 20th to 22nd of October 2023 in the High school “Vasil Levski”, Sevlievo, at the webinar "My successful project in 'Science on Stage 9'", held on the 4th of May 2023 at 17.00 local time. Its purpose was to explain the conditions for participation in the festival this year, the criteria for evaluation of projects, and other organizational issues that interested the candidates. The agenda of the webinar was:

1. Opening: The role of the 9th National Festival was defined as a selection of the best projects from Bulgaria, which will be presented at the 13th European Science on Stage festival, which will take place from the 12th to 15th of August 2024 in Turku, Finland. Primary school teachers as well as secondary biology, chemistry, physics, mathematics, and computer science teachers were invited to submit their most innovative teaching ideas until the 2nd of October 2023. Applications from future teachers will be especially welcome.
2. Conducting the national round: Presentation by Teodora Konova and Monika Kovachka-Dimitrova on “the road to Turku 2024“, clarifying the regulations, the application process, and deadlines for submitting the "Application for participation and project description" forms. 
3. Future League: In a presentation by Prof. Ana Georgieva she explained how education must be changed for the achievement of sustainable development. The need to deal with sustainability and environmental protection topics was underlined as important for students throughout Europe and as shaping our future. Thus, she invited on behalf of the NSC and the Unions of the Physicists and Chemists in Bulgaria the best participants in the:

• YOUTH SCIENTIFIC SESSION for pupils and students on the topic: "PHYSICS FOR A BETTER WORLD" held on April 11 and 12, 2023 and
• FESTIVAL OF CHEMISTRY 2023 held on April 21-22, 2023 in the city of Sofia

          to apply for the Future League with their projects, that fulfill one or more of the 17 SDGs and to present them at the National Festival "Science on Stage 9".

4. Presentation of the successful Bulgarian project “Science in box” from the 2022 European Science on Stage festival in Prague by Milena Gosheva and Greta Raykovska from the Vocational High School of Electronics in Sofia, Bulgaria. The aim of the project is to show the connection between science and technology. In it, the students build kits together using the laws of Physics and the skills to work with microcontrollers. In the form of a workshop:

• Ohm's law is demonstrated with a Breadboard, LEDs, resistors, and potentiometers;
• Тraffic light system is built with Arduino microcontroller, LEDs, and a button;
• Anemometer - a device for measuring wind strength  and
• an alarm is made to show the application of knowledge of sound and electricity in physics.

5. Questions and answers:  Most of the questions were asked by a first time participating in a “Science on Stage” event teacher  

The webinar was joined by about 50 teachers and they were really interested and encouraged to participate in the Bulgarian selection event - the 9th National “Science on Stage” festival. 

Report: Ana Georgieva