Science for everyone

<< Background >>Chemistry shows fascinate pupils, teachers, parents, grandparents, students, lecturers, in fact everyone... They not only spark enthusiasm for the natural sciences, but also create access to the natural sciences for everyone. In Berlin, just as in all other federal states, there is a shortage of natural scientists. We teachers must succeed in improving access and motivation for all groups of pupils. This project has helped to strengthen the role of schools, to inspire pupils for science and to strengthen them for the economy, digitality and the general resilience of European society.Growing performance gaps between girls and boys, immigrant children who have lost touch, a lack of teachers: the 2023 STEM Youth Barometer showed that there is a huge need for action in the STEM subjects. Studying STEM remains popular, especially among foreign STEM first-year students. It is also important to support pupils at an early stage and show them prospects, particularly in the context of securing a skilled workforce. The transnational exchange was crucial for this.<< Objectives >>The primary goal of Science for Everyone was to bring together organisations and stakeholders in the field of natural sciences, particularly chemistry and computer science/technology, and to encourage them to engage in further European cooperation in the Erasmus+ programme through transnational and transdisciplinary exchange. The participating organisations, in this case the staff of the science centre in Ventspils and the students and teachers of the advanced chemistry course at the Romain-Rolland grammar school, were to develop skills in transnational cooperation, to work together to develop a chemistry show that not only focuses on the aspect of safety, but also, in particular, implements the title of this project, Science for Everyone. The experiments used were to be checked for sustainability and, if necessary, revised. Another important goal was to include a wide range of different groups of people of different ages, abilities and levels of knowledge.<< Implementation >>Since the beginning of the project, we have held a video meeting almost every month to discuss the meetings and Berlin and Ventspils, to determine how the product should be designed and what experiments the show should include. We exchanged ideas about the layout, content and evaluation. The invited experts and other partners such as the University of Rostock were also connected. In addition, all organisations had the opportunity to participate in an external webinar (February). Furthermore, two mobilities were carried out, one in Germany and one in Latvia. Finally, four in-service teacher training courses on this topic were held at our school for chemistry teachers from Berlin and Brandenburg. They were able to try out the experiments themselves and were each shown a chemistry show. After that, the sustainable and inclusive approaches were explained.<< Results >>One concrete result was the ebook with particularly suitable experiments that fulfil the aspect of sustainability and safety. In addition, a taskcard, a digital pinboard with the ebook content, further content in the form of photos, further experiments, etc. has been created, which could already be used by the participants, but also by the participants of the two dissemination events in September. Many other groups have benefited and will continue to benefit from the results: Chemistry shows are a suitable tool for inclusion of all kinds, for example as part of an open day at the school. Pupils from years 5 to 12 can experiment together and many spectators, young and old, whether or not they are interested in chemistry, can be enchanted by science. In addition, visitors to a newly designed chemistry show in Ventspils, which is well accompanied and performed as part of the Science Centre programme, will have many more enthusiastic spectators. Here, too, the inclusive approach is important. The feedback from students and teachers on two chemistry shows in Ventspils was another very welcome result.