The examination of the results of the OCSE Pisa research about students' achievements in scientific literacy highlights that most European students need to improve their skills and competences in this field, which is basic and transversal to acquire a fundamental knowledge to be used and enriched in the perspective of the lifelong learning. The addressees of the project are students aged 14-17 and teachers from different countries (Italy, Spain, , Poland, Sweden) located in four diferent cardinal points in Europe. The interchange of practices and the "scientific" and "human" development of the students represents the two complementary parts of the project. The main objective of “Out of the Dark” is to motivate students to a more passionate study of the scientific subjects in order to bring them to observe “the starry sky above me” through existing (telescope) and innovative (Educational Sphere2.0) instruments. Astronomy is an area of investigation and research "that has no end" (the Planet 9 and the Gravitational Waves). The historical study of Astronomy links the Eastern to the Western thoughts and fosters the comprehension and thus the inclusion of different cultures, in a period in which national states are undergoing a severe crisis. Another relevant aspect is the improvement of the collaborative spirit, typical of the Scientific Academies. Students will be the protagonists and the active promoters of the value of the European citizenship. The logo of the Italian school "SCIENTIA AND HUMANITAS" and its astronomical observatory have led Italy to look for partner schools with similar characteristics. All the participating schools have already carried out projects in this field, cooperating with other institutions. Each country is responsible of activities agreed and organized during the teachers´ meeting in Spain. The scientific activities are divided in two phases. Daytime activities: use of the solar telescope and evaluation of the heights of the solar protuberances. Night activities: use of a normal telescope and to determination of the height of the lunar mountains using the method of measurement of the shadows. The results achieved by each country will be shared on the platform. They will be compared, analyzed and discussed during the transnational activity in Sweden where a scientific essay is edited and a photo exhibition is organized. Each country builds a Galilean telescope and draws a star map with using the planetary linguistic. Sweden organizes an evening meeting to observe the starry sky where each student chooses a star from the Cassiopeian constellation and "adopts" it. After that , the four stars chosen will be renamed the constellation of “Out of the Dark”. The complementarity between science and humanitas and the close relationship between Astromomy and Cosmology in the West and in the East, will finally come out through the analyses of myths, legends and information about famous scientists who gave relevant contributions to Astronomy. At the end of these activities, each country prepares a PPT that will be presented in Poland where there will be a reading and writing contest. The final step of the project in Spain includes : the presentation of the project outcomes in an exhibition, the play performance "Out of the Dark", a concert and a final DVD. This project aims at stimulating the understanding of the value of knowledge and science as a "place of dialogue” between different cultures, overcoming the geographical and cultural limits. The project shows the perfect connection between theoretical and practical study and the realization of an original product that is the concrete image of the students' experience. It provides an educational continuity between high school and university discouraging school dropout, a conscious and critical use of new technologies. The project fosters a cooperation among sciences , IT, humanities and it provides insight into the complexity of the topic and the fact that sciences are always linked to each other to a certain extent. Thanks to all these activities, students more easily understand the importance of interdisciplinarity in research. In order to achieve long term impact on them similar activities will be organized during the school year: “ science meetings” (for example 15th February, in occasion of Galilei’ s birth) with workshops open to the primary and middle school organized by students (peer education). Day and night visits will be organized at the observatory involving the local community and inviting volunteer experts. A no-profit association , called "Friends of the Observatory" could be founded. The obtained results, published on the local newspapers, on-line on the school site, will be always disposable and could be used as educational materials.
The examination of the results of the OECD PISA research about students' achievements in scientific literacy highlights that most European students need to improve their skills and competences in this field. This is essential and transversal to acquire a fundamental knowledge to be used and enriched in the perspective of lifelong learning. That is why our three schools, located in Gualdo Tadino (Italy), Eskilstuna (Sweden) and Fuenlabrada (Spain) decided to develop the Project “Out of the Dark”, whose primary objective is the joint treatment of science and humanities taking Astronomy as a common thread. The participants of the Project ranged from students aged 14-17 years old and teachers from these countries set in three different cardinal points in Europe. The interchange of practices and the "scientific" and "human" development of the students have represented the two complementary parts of the Project. The main objective of “Out of the Dark” was to motivate students to a more passionate study of the scientific subjects in order to bring them to observe “the starry sky above me” by means of existing and innovative instruments. Astronomy is an area of investigation and research in continuous evolution. The historical study of Astronomy creates a link between Eastern and Western thoughts and fosters the comprehension, thus creating the inclusion of different cultures in a period in which national states are undergoing a severe crisis. Another relevant aspect is the improvement of the collaborative spirit, typical of the Scientific Academies. Students have been the protagonists and the active promoters of the value of European citizenship. Within the framework of this Project, each country was responsible for the activities agreed upon and organized during the teachers´ meeting in Spain. The activities were divided into three groups: scientific, humanistic and cultural activities. These activities were developed in a national phase to study, research and create materials, and an international phase, in our three learning, teaching and training activities where the results were shared, and students, working in transnational teams, analyzed and solved different problems. In the first group, scientific, we have included the construction of instruments such as telescopes, sundials and quadrants, as well as measurements of lunar mountains and solar protuberances, the construction of rockets and robots, scientific essays, astronomical glossaries, visits and workshops in collaborating centres and Museums, with all of them displayed at the Science Fair in Fuenlabrada at the end of the Project. Humanistic activities focused on the study of the history of Astronomy, myths and legends of each country related to this field of knowledge, reading and literary creation workshop (The Little Prince), creation of a new constellation and its own myth, as well as the study of masterpieces and the design of their own wonderful artistic creations. For the third group, we selected some cultural activities that allowed us to better understand the culture and ways of life of each city and country, like guided visits in Old Stockholm, Florence, Assisi, Madrid and Toledo. The final step, in Spain, included the presentation of the Project outcomes in the Science Fair, and the performance of the play "Out of the Dark", as the main dissemination activities. The Project has shown the perfect connection between theoretical and practical study and the realization of an original product that results from the students' experiences. This active, collaborative and interdisciplinary methodology provided an educational continuity between secondary school and university, conscious and critical use of new technologies, and most of all it stirs the students’ curiosity in order to continue with their studies, discouraging school dropout. The Project has linked sciences, IT and humanities providing an insight into the complexity of the topic. Thanks to all these activities, students and teachers have better understood the importance of this interdisciplinary in research. In this sense, the Project can be considered an important transforming element of the school. In order to promote long-term impact of the results of the Project in students, similar activities will be organized during the school year: “science meetings” (for example 15th February, on the occasion of Galileo’s birth) with workshops open to primary and middle schools organized by students (peer education), as well as the Science Fair. Day and night visits will be held to observe special astronomical events (meteor showers, planetary oppositions, eclipses, etc.). The obtained results, published on the blog linked in the school sites, and on the specific website of the Project, will be always available and could be used as educational materials not only for the teachers involved but transferable to other schools. The relationship between the teams of teachers was very enriching and undoubtedly opens the possibility of future collaborations.