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Short Abstract

“NUCLIO fosters children’s natural curiosity through hands-on, participatory research. By engaging students as young scientists and connecting schools globally, citizen science develops critical thinking, science skills, and global citizenship, showing every child can be a scientist.”

Abstract

Children are natural explorers, constantly questioning the world around them. Yet traditional education systems often suppress this instinct, prioritising structure and conformity over curiosity and creativity. NUCLIO works under the belief that it is by fostering this curiosity that we can create a world where humans work harmoniously together to solve joint challenges.

Since 2004, NUCLIO has been promoting professional development to educators that incorporates students’ involvement into active research through participatory approaches, placing students as the leaders of their own learning path. By engaging students as scientists, from observing the night sky and monitoring light pollution to analysing space mission data, children get hands-on experience, whilst contributing to contemporary research. These encompass innovative and inclusive principles, real data acquired from robotic telescopes and satellites. A teacher's job is not to teach but to show students how to learn; they are the most important science communicators in children’s learning experience. Our goal is to inspire and empower educators to help learners become citizens of change for their communities.

Through international collaborations, NUCLIO connects schools across continents, allowing children to share data, ideas, and cultural perspectives while working towards common scientific goals. Students participating in these initiatives actively contribute to ongoing research while improving their science capital, critical thinking, and global citizenship awareness. By placing children at the heart of their communities’ needs, citizen science becomes a powerful tool to bridge the gap between the centre and the periphery, demonstrating that, under the same sky, every child can be a scientist.