Hands-on activities for teachers

Every year, ESA organises a Summer Teacher Workshop and an Autumn Teacher Workshop. Both workshops take place in the Netherlands and are dedicated to European primary and secondary school teachers from ESA Member or Associate States. In 2019, ESA will be celebrating the 10^thedition of the Summer Teacher Workshop and the 5^thedition of the Autumn Teacher Workshop!

The call to apply to the workshops is now open.

What happens during the workshops?
Inspired by real and actual ESA space missions and programmes, participants are given stimulating talks and training on how to include space in their lessons to make science and technology exciting for their students. Organised around three main space themes, Space Exploration, Earth Observation and Technology, the workshops, identical in both editions, provide teachers with a unique professional development opportunity, and, through training sessions, will demonstrate how space can be used to teach Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) curricular subjects in school.

The workshops feature keynote lectures from top-level space experts and visits to the ESTEC facilities. During the hands-on sessions, participants will explore and discuss classroom experiments and demonstrations.

The workshops provide a unique opportunity for teachers to network with education peers and space experts from across Europe.

Teachers working together

The workshops are open to primary and secondary school teachers of STEM-related subjects residing and working within any of ESA’s Member and Associate States*.

Please note that priority is given to teachers who have not participated in previous teacher workshops given by ESA.

How and when to apply
Teachers wishing to participate in one of the workshops will be able to complete an application form when the call is opened. Teachers are selected based on the information provided. 

Workshop details
Both workshops will take place in Leiden, the Netherlands, close to ESA’s ESTEC establishment.

The summer workshop will take place in July. A part of the programme will be dedicated to visiting ESTEC as well as the Space Expo museum.

The autumn edition will take place in October. On the last day, workshop participants will visit ESTEC and take part in the ESTEC Open Day.

Attendance to the entire workshop is mandatory. 

Teachers attending space-related lecture

The working language of the workshops is English. The workshop is therefore only open to participants who have proficient knowledge of the language. 

Follow this link if you want to make a self-assessment of your English level. 

Sponsorship and costs
There is no fee to participate in the workshops. ESA will arrange and sponsor the cost of hotel rooms for 4 nights, necessary local transport during the workshop, lunch and refreshments, as well as one social dinner.  

Participants are expected to cover the full cost of their travel to and from Leiden, the Netherlands, and the cost of evening meals, with the exception of one social dinner offered by ESA.

For questions, please contact us at teachers @ esa.int.

Stay tuned for more details and for your chance to apply and take part in these workshops!