The SteamCity project aimed to design and deploy a set of interdependent services enabling secondary school teachers and students to conduct scientific investigations around smart territory challenges. Our ambition was to establish a citizen science approach that works both in and outside the classroom, empowering students to mobilize their interdisciplinary knowledge to address contemporary social, societal, and environmental challenges, thus developing their capacity for civic action.
Facing challenges in science education across Europe, particularly the lack of student engagement in STEM subjects, our project addressed three needs: developing scientific learning experiences based on inquiry and investigation; promoting inclusion by democratizing access to technologies and fighting stereotypes; and integrating these pedagogical approaches into curricula to facilitate their adoption by teachers in various European contexts.