Science is Wonderful! 2020 Tutorial for teachers - European ...
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Science is Wonderful! 2020
Tutorial for teachers
This tutorial is dedicated to teachers from Primary and Secondary schools. It was made to assist
them in the preparation of a visit of Science is Wonderful! 2020 with their class.
1) The section about “The exhibition” gives a general introduction to the event (page 1).
2) The section about “The online platform: the virtual exhibition Palace” describes in
details the content of the exhibition (page 3).
3) Finally, the section about “The preparation of your visit” gives advice on how to plan
your visit with your class, from the registration stage up until the planning of your class
time on the day of the event (page 6).
In case of question, you can contact the Organising Team via email at schoolsSIW2020@vo-
europe.eu or by phone at +32 2 210 42 07.
1The exhibition
Science is Wonderful! 2020
Science is Wonderful! is a free online exhibition of Research and Innovation projects funded by
the European Union, taking place for the 6th time this year. It is aimed at teachers, pupils of all
ages, parents and citizens, as well as researchers and professionals.
The exhibition is part of the EU Research and Innovation Days, taking place from 22 to 24
September. In 2020 for the first time, the event is happening fully online, allowing people from
all over the world, to connect, interact and learn new things.
Additional information about Science is Wonderful! may be found on the event’s website.
On the day of the event, the access to Science is Wonderful! will happen via the EU Research and
Innovation days website.
The concept
Science is Wonderful! aims at bringing Science closer to the public and presenting what the
European Union does best in Research and Innovation. You will discover notably 40 projects
funded by the European Union …
• … in different fields of Research and Innovation: Chemistry, Environment and Geosciences,
Information sciences, Life sciences, Physics, Social sciences and Humanities,
• … tackling the COVID-19 response as well as in topics such as the fight against the climate
emergency, environment, cancer, etc.
• … through interactive activities, live presentations, games, do-it-yourself experiments,
inspirational videos,
• … all accessible from your classroom via our virtual platform, which reproduces a real-life
exhibition Palace with its 4 Pavilions.
The programme
Science is Wonderful! is made up of a variety of features:
• The 40 researchers’ stands, spread across Pavilion 1, Pavilion 2 and Pavilion 3. These
stands are the highlight of the exhibition. You can find the list of stands here, and see their
stand reference number, the languages they propose, and their academic field. At every
stand, you will find:
o permanent interactive activities, available at all times (for example: videos,
brochures, quizzes, …). written live “chat” conversation with the researchers
responsible of the project, …)
o regular live presentations, happening at different times of the day. They are
recommended for the public under or over 14 years old, and in various languages.
The programme of live presentations for the 3 days is available here. To join a live
presentation, simply go to the researcher’s stand and click on the microphone icon.
2You will then join a Zoom online video, where the researcher will give the
presentation.
• Additional permanent features, (games, do-it-yourself activities, inspirational videos, …)
spread across the Reception area, Pavilion 1, 2, 3 and in the Inspirational area. The section
on the virtual exhibition Palace will give you more information.
3The online platform: the virtual exhibition Palace
The avatars and the virtual environment
In 2020, your visit of Science is Wonderful! will be entirely virtual. It will take place thanks to an
“avatar”, who will be your eyes and your ears, in the virtual exhibition. The avatar will represent you
and your pupils, just like in a video game.
Your avatar will be created for you automatically, right after your registration on the EU
Research and Innovation Days website. It will wait for you at the entrance of the platform, on the
day of the event.
During the event, your avatar can:
• interact with other avatars (chat in written, and call),
• interact with its environment (objects, doors, billboards, screens, …) – don’t hesitate to
hover over these elements and click on them.
• Walk around the exhibition palace, as well as teleport from one place to another – don’t
hesitate to check the virtual maps placed in the exhibition palace, and choose where you
want to teleport to.
You can find several actions and commands to perform with your avatar, in the toolbox on the
screen, notably a « search » field to find relevant projects, places or people.
The Reception area
The Reception area is the first point of access of your avatar, to the virtual exhibition Palace. It
contains:
o A welcome message by Mariya Gabriel, the European Commissioner for
Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth – do not hesitate to watch it with
your class!
o A welcome desk – you can find the programme of the event as well as indications on
how to navigate the platform.
o The virtual map of the event – you can see a view of the entire exhibition palace, and
the exhibition stands with their corresponding stand number.
o The access to Pavilions 1, 2, 3 (which host the 40 researchers’ stands and additional
features) and to the Inspirational Area (which hosts video galleries).
Pavilion 1
In Pavilion 1, you can find:
o Research projects n°1 to n°20 (find the details here), with their permanent interactive
activities and regular live presentations (programme here).
o A relax area with 4 interactive billboards (it could be, notably, Social media walls,
video presentations of Education and Youth programmes of the European Union, quizzes,
feedback wall, …)
4Pavilion 2
In Pavilion 2, you can find:
o Research projects n°21 to n°34 (find the details here), with their permanent interactive
activities and regular live presentations (programme here).
o 4 Research and Innovation stands from the European Union, at the center of the
Pavilion: Joint Research Center (JRC), European Institute of Innovation Technology (EIT),
Horizon Magazine, Horizon 2020 success stories
o A relax area with 4 interactive billboards (it could be, notably, Social media walls,
video presentations of Education and Youth programmes of the European Union, quizzes,
feedback wall, …)
Pavilion 3
In Pavilion 3, you can find:
o Research projects n°41 to n°50 (find the details here), with their permanent interactive
activities and regular live presentations (programme here).
o The Kids’ area: Research and Innovation games in all EU-languages, for all ages (“Zoe
makes a splash!”, “Science quiz”, “Climate and Energy quiz”, and many more).
o 3 Meeting rooms, including one room dedicated to schools exclusively.
This additional feature allows you to have private video conversations with researchers, or
even other visitors. Don’t hesitate to chat with them and maybe agree to set up a private
meeting in the Meeting Rooms.
This could be a nice way to meet other teachers or pupils from other countries! To avoid
any confusion: the live presentations made by researchers are happening directly at their
stands, not in the meeting rooms.
Inspirational area
In the Inspirational area, you will find permanent video exhibitions. They include:
o “Would you like to become a scientist too?” - Do-it-yourself tutorial videos, subtitled
in the 24 EU-languages – reproduce simple science experiments in your classroom, with a
little bit of preparation.
- Pressure in the deep: do you wonder how mysterious creatures and fish survive
in the deep ocean?
- Soil erosion: did you know that even the tiniest plant holds the soil under your
feet?
Age target: under 12
Material needed:
Water pressure video
- 1 bike pump (with a pressure gauge)
- 1 pump connection
- 1 valve
- 1 pair of safety goggles
5- 2 balloons of different colour
- 1 plastic bottle
- Water
Soil erosion video
- 2 plastic bottles of 1.5L
- 1 pair of scissors
- 2 different type of soils (ex: garden and grass)
- 2 transparent containers
o « The European Union on a Mission » – discover 6 simple short videos that describe the
European Union’s missions in the following topics. If you want to watch them in advance,
you can preview the videos here.
- Fighting cancer
- Adapting to climate change, including with a societal transformation
- Healthy oceans, seas, coastal and inland waters
- Climate-neutral and smart cities
- Soil health and food
o « Amazing researchers » video gallery – discover 19 short testimonials of researchers
funded by the European Union, from all over the world, and inspire your students into
becoming one of them!
6The preparation of your visit
Now that you are familiar with the exhibition and what it has to offer, we advise you to follow
these guidelines to prepare your visit with your school.
The registration
The very first thing to do in order to prepare your visit, is to register on the website of the European
Research and Innovation Days. You can follow the dedicated tutorial for step-by step
registration, available here.
As a teacher, you should be the only one registering on the platform. Your pupils shouldn’t
register individually. In exceptional cases, such as remote teaching and learning, you may instruct
your pupils to register individually. In this case, they should indicate « not applicable » in the
question « organisation type », whereas you should still indicate « school ». This is also valid, in case
you would like to tell your pupils and students to connect to the event outside of school time.
During the registration, it is normal that you do not have to register for specific activities,
stands or sessions. Science is Wonderful! is an open event. You can already consult the
programme to decide what you want to discover with your pupils, but you do not have to register to
specific sessions in advance.
Before validating your registration, note down your credentials! (e-mail address and chosen
password), as they will be needed to access the platform on the day of the event.
After the registration, you will receive 2 e-mails. With the first e-mail, don’t forget to confirm your
e-mail address by clicking on the link, to allow for a smooth access to the platform. The second e-
mail is the confirmation of your registration.
The choice of activities – researchers’ stands
Step 1: We advise you to start by checking out the detailed description of activities here. You
can spot the topics and stands that correspond to your educational needs with your pupils.
Step 2: When you have made a decision on your preferred stand(s), you can then check the
programme of live presentations. At every stand, live presentations are:
o held regularly throughout the 3 days (on average, 4 presentations per day at each stand)
o for children under 14 years old or for the public over 14 years old (most stands offer
presentations for all age categories),
o in English or in another EU-language (on the programme, the languages are indicative.
Don’t hesitate to ask the researchers to hold the presentation in English, if you don’t
understand their language but you are still interested).
Step 3: When you found the presentation of your dreams, mark down the day and time in your
agenda, and don’t forget to also note down the reference number of the stand. It will make it
easier to locate the stand, once you access the event.
You are also encouraged to visit several stands in a row. There are live presentations happening
every hour, in all the proposed languages.
7We sincerely hope that you will find live presentations that satisfy your needs and the needs of
your pupils. However, please do not hesitate to visit the researchers’ stands also when no live
presentation is happening: a lot of interactive content is available permanently, and you
can still chat in written with the researchers responsible for the project, and maybe invite them to a
private meeting in one of the Meeting rooms!
The planning of logistics
A few days before the event, you can share this video teaser with your pupils, to make them
curious about the event! You can encourage your colleagues to also register on behalf of their
class.
We also advise you to plan with your pupils, how the interactions with the researchers will work.
o Are your pupils very young? In this case, you might want to set up a system allowing
you to channel their questions and comments, and play the role of intermediary between
the class and the researchers.
o Are your pupils a bit older? It is possible that they speak or write directly to the
researchers (keeping in mind that they should take turns since there should only be one
avatar per class, linked to the teacher’s registration).
Before the class, you should also set up your material – you will need:
o a projector and a screen,
o a computer with reliable Internet connection, and a Google Chrome browser (recommended,
but not obligatory).
o the credentials of your profile (e-mail and password - created during the registration),
o the name and reference number of the stand(s) that you wish to visit.
o If you want to take part in live presentations, you should also have a reliable microphone
and camera (optional)
o If you want to attend presentations in English, why not asking the assistance of a Language
teacher?
You can also think in advance of how to keep memory of this experience with your pupils.
o If you have a school’s newspaper, you could decide to write an article about the event,
and maybe interview one of the researchers!
o You can also use the Social Media talent of your pupils! You could designate 1 or 2 pupils
responsible for sharing the experience of your class in Science is Wonderful! or let them all
do it. Take pictures, record short videos, write short texts, publish lives and stories, and let
your pupils post on Social Media.
They can use the following hashtags: #ScienceIsWonderful and #RiDaysEU and tag the
following accounts: @european_youth_eu for Instagram, @Marie.Curie.Actions for
Facebook and @MSCActions for Twitter. The European Commission will share and retweet
some of the best publications!
That’s it, you’re all set to start!
8The perfect planning for your 2-hour class
Besides the 40 researchers’ stands, the event has a lot more to offer! Here is an indicative list of
things to do in the event, during a 2-hour class (starting, in this example, at 10:00).
(10:00) The class is starting!
5 minutes: connect to the website of the EU Research and Innovation Days. Type in your credentials
to access the Science is Wonderful! online exhibition. Read the instructions on how to navigate the
platform. You are now at the entrance of the Registration area, but don’t enter just yet!
5 minutes: in the Dashboard (bottom right corner), fill in your “business card” details – this is the
identity of your avatar. In the name field, we advise you to add the age of your students and their
nationality (example: John Doe – English teacher – 15 y.o. pupils). If you like, you can also
change the physical appearance of your avatar.
5 minutes: watch the Welcome message by European Commissioner Mariya Gabriel, with
your pupils. It is subtitled in the 24 EU-languages.
(10:15) It is already a quarter past, time to go to your first stand!
5 minutes: after watching the welcome video, walk to the Reception area and reach the doors of
the Pavilions. Have a look at the programme again and check the reference number of the stand. Is
your stand located in Pavilion 1, 2 or 3? You can also check the virtual map of the exhibition, for
help.
(10:20) You’ve reached the stand, and you’ve got a few more minutes before the live
presentation starts.
10 minutes: spend some time on the stand to discover the permanent features put at your
disposal by the researchers (brochures, videos, …). They are a good introduction for your pupils!
(10:30) It is now half past, the live presentation is about to start!
15 minutes: click on the banner with the microphone icon, to join the live presentation from
researchers. By clicking here, you will enter a Zoom video call. Please do not forget to mute your
microphone during the presentation. At the end, the researchers may decide to open the floor for
Questions and Answers.
(10:45) The live presentation is over. If you planned on attending another one, the next slot
will be in 45 minutes (always starting at half past). It’s a lot of time to discover other things
at the event!
10 minutes: You can take 10 minutes to follow-up on the presentation that you just saw. Do not
hesitate to ask questions to the researchers, via the written chat to their avatar, or by inviting
them to a private meeting in one of the Meeting rooms! You can also keep on discovering the
content available at their stand.
30 minutes: you have 30 minutes ahead of you before the start of the next live presentation.
Depending on the age and interest of your pupils, you could:
9o (up to 12 years old) Go to the Kids’ area in Pavilion 3 and play some (or all) of the
Research and Innovation games made available for you in all 24 EU-languages
o (up to 13 years old) Go to the Inspirational area and reproduce one of the 2 Do-it-
yourself experiments.
o (15-16 years old) Your pupils will soon decide what career they want to embrace. Go to the
inspirational area and watch some of the videos of the exhibition “Amazing
Researchers”, to inspire them to do the same!
o (17-18 years old) Visit the 4 Research and Innovation stands from the European
Union, at the center of Pavilion 2: Joint Research Center (JRC), European Institute of
Innovation Technology (EIT), Horizon Magazine, Horizon 2020 success stories. They will
show you how the EU is supporting Research and Innovation.
o (all ages) Go to the Inspirational area and watch the short videos “the EU on a Mission”
(11:25) If you want to attend another live presentation, it is time to go! Remember the
reference number of the stand and use the virtual map to teleport yourself there.
15 minutes: click on the banner with the microphone icon, to join the live presentation from
researchers. By clicking here, you will enter a Zoom video call. Please do not forget to mute your
microphone during the presentation. At the end, the researchers may decide to open the floor for
Questions and Answers.
(11:45) Your class is about to end
15 minutes: use the last minutes in your class to wrap up what you’ve discovered at the event. If
you like, don’t forget to download all the content from the researchers’ stands, that could be
interesting for you. You can also note down the contact details of the researchers for further
questions. You will find them on their business card!
Finally, do not forget to share the experience you had with your pupils, on the Social media. You can
use the following hashtags: #ScienceIsWonderful and #RiDaysEU and tag the following
accounts: @european_youth_eu for Instagram, @Marie.Curie.Actions for Facebook and
@MSCActions for Twitter. The European Commission will share and retweet some of the best
publications!
We hope you will have had an amazing visit and that this tutorial will have been helpful.
Don’t hesitate to come back on the platform anytime, it is open until 24th September!
In case of question, you can contact the Organising Team via email at schoolsSIW2020@vo-
europe.eu or by phone at +32 2 210 42 07.
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