ODAC3
Although these issues may appear less immediate within planetary science, they remain highly relevant. Research in planetary exploration, astrobiology, exoplanets, and Earth’s climate history often captures broad public attention, yet scientific findings can be easily misinterpreted or distorted within the modern information ecosystem. Strengthening engagement with planetary science is therefore vital — not only to share the sense of curiosity and wonder that motivates scientific discovery, but also to support science literacy, critical thinking, and a broader understanding of the scientific method.
This perspective is particularly fitting as we mark the 30th anniversary of Carl Sagan’s passing. Sagan’s legacy reminds us that effective science communication is not merely about transmitting facts, but about cultivating curiosity, skepticism, and a deeper appreciation of our place in the universe. Inspired by this tradition, we invite contributions that reflect on contemporary challenges and opportunities in science communication.
Rather than separating discussions into isolated themes — such as communication on social media, the role of long-form media, the use of AI tools, citizen science, or strategies for countering misinformation — this session encourages a broader exchange of ideas. We welcome participants to share activities, insights, and experiences addressing the central question of how diverse communication approaches can work in synergy to effectively convey scientific knowledge, inspire public interest, and strengthen meaningful engagement with science in the years ahead.
Planetary science is also a powerful tool for science education and for STEAM more broadly. Its multidisciplinary nature, combined with the fascination of exploring other worlds, makes it an exceptional framework for teaching a wide range of scientific and non-scientific concepts, as well as transferable skills.This session also focuses on emerging approaches in STEAM education that use planetary science as a framework.
How do we search for life in the Universe? What do scientists actually look for? And... can you find it?
In 1960, Frank Drake formulated the most famous equation to estimate the likelihood of intelligent life in the cosmos. The goal was to stimulate scientific dialog around the first SETI meeting and has since largely remain limited to scientific circles. How can we harness its creative power to promote Astrobiology ?
We developed Drake’s Dice: a board game that translates the randomness and uncertainty inherent in astrobiological data into gameplay. Players encounter real-life events (e.g., Gaia, Artemis) or astronomy concepts (e.g., Fermi Paradox, planetary migration) that constrain or expand the probability of life. Over 50 key concepts are explained in an illustrated booklet. Three difficulty levels reflect the evolving complexity of the scientific consensus.
Tested in public outreach settings, this physical game offers an accessible, engaging way for general audiences to explore the science, assumptions, and open questions behind the search for extraterrestrial life.
How to cite: Pott, A. and Larose, D.: Drake’s Dice: Bringing Astrobiology to the board game evening., Europlanet Science Congress 2026, The Hague, The Netherlands, 7–11 Sep 2026, EPSC2026-9, https://doi.org/10.5194/epsc2026-9, 2026.
In planetary science we study a myriad of internal and external geological processes that are shaping the planets and moons inside the solar system. Thanks to the remote exploration by satellites, we can reconstruct the geologic, climatic and possibly biologic past of these planetary bodies. Key focal points targeted by the Dutch community are planetary evolution and the past and present-day habitability. Herein too, lies an important challenge for our education approach for engineering students. The curricula of a typical Aerospace Engineering student are well-aligned to offer training in solving the engineering challenges of space flight and operations of spacecraft. While our students are not trained as geologists, these future space engineers and planetary scientists would benefit from developing and obtaining a level of proficiency of geological concepts at higher learning levels that help them understand the science drivers for instruments and their potential and limitations on space missions. We believe that the development of such concepts can be supported by an ‘analogue approach’, which involves using materials from Earth that resemble those observed on other planetary bodies [1]. It offers learners an unparalleled opportunity to augment their textbook knowledge with first-hand, real-world observations of materials that drive scientific questions and design requirements for planetary missions. However, rock collections for teaching in the field of geoscience are often compiled and expanded over decades by the involved teaching staff. This means that existing geological collections are not aligned a priori to the educational needs in planetary science teaching. Afterall, collections with a relevant scope for planetary science will be strongly dependent on outcomes of past and present planetary missions.
Here we report on the development of the Planetary Analogue Rock Collection (PARC) and the first outcomes of using PARC in teaching activities. We have recently started involving hands-on materials and to study how these can contribute to a better understanding of numerical approaches and in-situ measuring strategies by space missions. Based on our initial activities and evaluations for the courses ‘Physics of Planetary Interiors’ and ‘Measurement Strategies for Planetary Science Missions’, we found that the assimilation of theoretical knowledge on rocks and minerals benefits from relevant examples and the use of hands-on materials. During the project we aimed to refine and improve our educational formats, expanded the collection with new specimen collected in Iceland and set-up an approach and platform to create and host ‘digital twins’ (3D models) of selected rock examples. Aligned to digital collection trends in education [2-4] these 3D models allow us to develop blended-learning activities to support the students' learning process. We will present our approach to the collection, its use in courses, we propose the use of "educational analogues" to complement [1] and discuss some key outcomes that merits further consideration for those seeking to use hands-on collections in education of the generation of digital natives.
References
[1] Foucher, F. et al., Planetary and Space Science, 197, 105162 (2021). [2] Andrews, G.D.M. et al., GSA Today, 30(9), 42-43 (2020). [3] Apopei, A., Carpathian Journal of Earth and Environmental Sciences, 16, 237-249 (2021). [4] Riquelme, A., et al., Rock Mech Rock Eng, 52, 4799–4806 (2019).
How to cite: de Vet, S., Root, B., and Guerrero-Harpe, S.: Hands-on teaching using a Planetary Analogue Rock Collection (PARC) to augment education in planetary science and engineering, Europlanet Science Congress 2026, The Hague, The Netherlands, 7–11 Sep 2026, EPSC2026-874, https://doi.org/10.5194/epsc2026-874, 2026.
Wouldn’t it be nice to learn computational thinking while exploring Mars? In Aula del Cel at the Observatori Astronòmic of the University of Valencia, we have been assisting the educational community for over twenty years with the aim of turning the Universe into our everyday classroom.
The purpose
Our primary goal is always to inspire youth through meaningful learning obtained from experience and evidence. We set the path to this sort of learning by means of our hands-on activities based on real data obtained from scientific research.
For the activity presented in this abstract, we have chosen Mars as a learning scenario due to its widespread presence in popular culture. Cinema, literature and also scientific journalism have been echoing human aspirations to set up a permanently inhabited base on the red planet. But before human exploration starts, robotic exploration, on the ground and in orbit, has been paving the way for several decades now leading to a deep knowledge about our red neighbour that often differs from the image that has settled down in our students’ minds.
This activity is addressed to lower and upper secondary students, and its overall goal is to develop computational thinking by inviting the students to become software development engineers for a day. The participating teams are required to program a squad of Lego Spike Prime rovers that will have to move autonomously along a Martian model and complete their mission tasks.
The specific targets of the activity are:
- To “rescue” the topic of the red planet from the fantasy realm and bring it to the classroom desk in the form of a list of quantitative properties such as size, distance to the Sun, temperature, gravity, and orbital parameters.
- To offer the students an approach to Mars geography letting them become familiar with its most relevant features such as Olympus mount, Marineris valley, Gale crater or Utopia plain.
- To allow students to assess the difficulties inherent to robotic exploration and solve them by means of engineering skills.
- To develop computational thinking by letting them “think as a rover” and enabling the identification of different sorts of tasks.
- To let the students become familiar with the nature of scientific work, not limited to the scientific method and its stages but understood also as a purely cooperative task involving interpersonal skills and widespread cultural exchange.
The tasks involved in this activity not only should provide the students with a glimpse of the characteristics of Mars but also, by means of the cooperative work required, they will allow them to develop several educational key competences. We are referring to the “European Commission Key competences for lifelong learning” spanning from the more obvious steam competences until cultural awareness, multilingual or citizenship competences.
The tools and materials
This engaging classroom activity poses several challenges to the students, some of which we list hereafter:
- Exploring a satellite view of Mars in search of geographic features and sorting them out as mounts, valleys, craters or plains.
- Estimating the planet's properties using those of the Earth as reference and checking them out.
- Programming basic orders of machine autonomous movement differentiating from one-time actions to looping actions.
- Programming complex orders based on the use of sensors and decision-making algorithms aimed at avoiding obstacles, detecting cracks or holes on Mars' surface and inserting a thermometer probe placed at the end of a robotic arm into one of these cracks.
- Modifying the physical setup of the rover’s instruments and sensors so that they better suit the proposed goals.
They deal with these challenges with the help of a selection of materials and tools as diverse as the audience. The activity requires that the students make use of cutting-edge online tools, a handcrafted Mars model, commercial software and a full Lego Spike Prime kit per team, as well as a guiding activity sheet.
The making of
The activity invites the participants to become engineers for a day. It is conceived as a training + mission itinerary consisting of three successive milestones:
Milestone 1 – What do we know about Mars thanks to robotic exploration?
First, the students are required to dive into scientific data by means of two tasks.
Task 1: make use of the data published in the NASA Mars Trek tool, which is a portal that showcases data collected at various landing sites. They are required to look for several geographic features and, based on what they actually see, classify them as mounts, valleys, craters, or plains.
Task 2: make use of the commercial software Sandbox Universe to check out their estimations about Mars properties compared to those of Earth.
Milestone 2 – Meet your rover
Second, the students become familiar with the Lego rover that shall be programmed to fulfill the mission.
Each rover on the desk has an ID card and has been assigned the name of a real Martian rover: Sojourner, Spirit, Opportunity, Curiosity, Perseverance, Zhurong and Rosalind Frankin are our seven rovers. The ID cards contain technical data and facts about the corresponding true rover.
Now the training in programming begins by introducing basic orders and sensors with the help of a supporting presentation. The trainees are asked to develop basic autonomous movement programs which are verified in a test environment: a large and plain table.
Milestone 3 - Program your mission
Third, the students are requested to program the code required for their mission: detect cracks on Mars surface and insert a probe into them or detect obstacles and avoid them.
This code together with the rover performance are verified in a “real” environment, this is a custom-made Mars model that recreates (non-scale) both the Olympus mount and Marineris valley. This model has been handcrafted by a local artist specifically for the Aula del Cel.
Conclusion
At the end of the session, the students collect a commemorative badge that credits the accomplishment of all the milestones throughout the activity. They leave the Aula del Cel with a smile and a much richer view of Mars and computational science: a meaningful learning experience.
How to cite: Ramírez Velado, B., Moya Lucas, M. J., and Ortiz Gil, A.: Thinking as a Martian rover, Europlanet Science Congress 2026, The Hague, The Netherlands, 7–11 Sep 2026, EPSC2026-559, https://doi.org/10.5194/epsc2026-559, 2026.
This project builds upon the experience of the multisensory planetarium, expanding its principles into a new, modular, and replicable format: multisensory tablets representing various celestial objects. These devices are designed to make astronomical data — such as stellar brightness and spatial arrangement — accessible and engaging for all users, including sighted, deaf, blind, and visually impaired individuals.
The tablets translate scientific parameters into coordinated sensory outputs. Apparent magnitude is represented through LED brightness, sound frequency and/or volume, and tactile elements such as bolts and threads or wire. The spatial layout of the stars within a constellation is physically reproduced, allowing users to navigate the structure through touch. The constellation of Cassiopeia , for examples, was chosen as the initial model due to its recognizability and diversity of stellar properties.
Each tablet is built using an Arduino Uno board and capacitive touch sensors. When a star is touched, the system activates the corresponding visual and acoustic stimuli, offering a multisensory experience that reinforces understanding. The design is modular, allowing users to construct their own representations and choose how to map data to stimuli. This autonomy fosters creativity, personal engagement, and deeper cognitive processing.
The project was implemented through teacher training workshops, where participants built their own constellation tablets, explored inclusive strategies for science communication and exoerienced Universal Design. The activity also introduced basic electronics and coding, making it suitable for educational environments and adaptable to different age groups and learning contexts.
One of the key outcomes of the project is the realization that multisensory tools are not only inclusive but also pedagogically effective. Sighted users benefit from the multisensory approach as it helps clarify abstract concepts, such as the difference between apparent and absolute brightness or the spatial distribution of stars. The use of multiple sensory channels supports diverse learning styles and enhances retention and comprehension.
By enabling users to build and personalize their own constellation models, the project transforms passive observation into active exploration. It encourages a shift from one-size-fits-all communication to a flexible, user-driven experience that respects individual needs and preferences. In doing so, it redefines how astronomy can be shared with the public—not just as a visual spectacle, but as a multisensory journey through data, perception, and imagination.
How to cite: Di Giacomo, F. and Stefania, V.: Touching the Cosmos. Modular representations of the Universe for multisensory learning., Europlanet Science Congress 2026, The Hague, The Netherlands, 7–11 Sep 2026, EPSC2026-681, https://doi.org/10.5194/epsc2026-681, 2026.
Astronomy, planetary science and space science are not widely taught in UK schools. This might be considered an issue, considering the likely future importance of space science to any advanced industrial economy. There is an astronomy GCSE (exam) syllabus, but it is taught in only a few secondary schools, and there is usually some astronomy taught as part of general science and physics courses.
One way to tackle this deficit may be to cover these subjects at after-school clubs and in holiday activities, allowing students to learn about astronomy in an informal setting, unconstrained by the school curriculum, but still developing skills such as team work, scientific method, and communication. This can also provide a way of engaging students who find more formal education settings difficult, and may encourage students towards STEM subjects in general, as well as kindling life-long interests in astronomy and space. The primary school is the optimum stage for developing these interests; children of this age have a natural fascination with space.
Stellar Inspire Ltd
Stellar Inspire Ltd (SI) was set up in April 2025, following discussion of the above by the authors, who are the Directors of the company, as a commercial entity to operate after-school clubs and holiday workshops (‘camps’) to teach primary-age school children about astronomy and space science, and also to run workshops for groups of adults on similar themes, using hands-on activities to educate in a fun but effective way.
The main motivation for the company was not significant profit, but effective management of the various elements needed for effective, safe engagement once the work developed beyond the initial single school club. SI currently runs clubs in seven primary schools in London across both the state and private sectors, involving around 130 students.
The clubs are usually run once a week for an hour in each school, except that in some schools separate clubs operate on different days for different age groups. SI has also worked with charities supporting the children of asylum-seekers and autistic children. In this latter work it has been supported financially by the Royal Astronomical Society, building on earlier support from the British Astronomical Association. It has also collaborated with companies in the educational sector in India.
Methods and challenges
In general the activities are funded by the parents, either paying the company directly, or via schools. SI develops the educational content for the clubs and employs the educators to deliver it. These are usually recent graduates or students looking for experience in working in the educational sector, but not necessarily graduates in space sciences. The content is developed such that non-specialists can lead the activities.
Direct observational astronomy in this context is problematic, given the unpredictable UK weather, and the fact the clubs take place in the day time, and mostly indoors, though schools sometimes do offer suitable outdoor spaces. However there are some opportunities for students to make optical observations of the Sun and Moon, and use of remote telescopes is a possibility.
Another challenge is the transport and storage of equipment. Schools will often store small equipment items, but larger items that the company uses, such as telescopes, can only be used occasionally, because of the brief nature of the clubs and issues of transport and set-up and take-down time. Hence activities have been developed that do not have these issues.
One successful activity has been the use of Universe Sandbox app, which enables children to design planets and planetary systems according to their arbitrary wishes and to experiment with them, all consistent with the laws of physics. In general balance is sought in the sessions between passive learning activities, questions and answers, screen (PC or tablet) activities, and hands-on craft-style activities, such as making models, designs and drawings. A popular practical activity, where outdoor space allows, has been building and launching rockets.
Mars Colony Project
From a desire to have a coherent activity that lasts a whole term, delivered in parallel in all the clubs, a programme was created on the theme of developing a Mars space colony. The students were taught about the fundamental differences between Mars and Earth and how these impact on the essentials for life. They then were required to design Martian bases, justifying their choices, and explaining how oxygen, water, food and power would be supplied. These bases were built as physical models, using recycled household objects. Students in larger clubs were divided into teams, each working on their own Mars colony concept. Along the way the opportunity was taken to grow plants in the classroom, allowing for discussion of both terrestrial and astro-biology. Photos of the students’ work were submitted to the ESA ‘Moon Camp’ project and students received certificates from ESA.
Certificate from ESA
Telescope-making Project
Another whole-term programme conducted in all the clubs has been a telescope making and using project. This allows for simple optical experiments, explanations of the principles of optics, how telescopes work and the history of telescopic astronomy. The telescopes that the students actually build are Galilean and Keplarian refractors made from cardboard kits with acrylic lenses. With these instruments (or others, such as ordinary household binoculars) the students are helped to develop skills of observation and scientific recording.
Drawing sunspots
Concluding remarks
Primary-school students constantly ask questions, often very sophisticated ones that are beyond the likely knowledge of the educator. This is treated as a positive feature of the sessions, and a challenge. The questions are all written down and, if they cannot be answered immediately, they are answered systematically in subsequent sessions, encouraging discussion amongst the students.
Developing new activities that meet the constraints mentioned and are genuinely educational is a challenge, but the popularity of the club concept seems clear and there is no shortage of demand. We look forward to hearing experiences from others at the Congress who have been working on similar lines elsewhere.
How to cite: Arditti, D., Ramakrishnan, S., and Usher, H.: Setting-up a network of astronomy clubs in London primary schools, Europlanet Science Congress 2026, The Hague, The Netherlands, 7–11 Sep 2026, EPSC2026-685, https://doi.org/10.5194/epsc2026-685, 2026.
Science communication within planetary science and exoplanet research faces the challenge of balancing scientific rigour with accessibility in an increasingly fragmented and fast-moving information ecosystem. While short-form communication dominates many online platforms, long-form conversational media offer opportunities for deeper engagement and more nuanced discussion of scientific research and methodology.
We present Growing Worlds, an international podcast focused on exoplanet science and planetary exploration, designed around a structured conversational framework aimed at improving accessibility without sacrificing scientific accuracy. A defining feature of the project is its explicit focus on early-career researchers (ECRs), who are placed at the centre of the conversation as scientific contributors, communicators, and representatives of the next generation of planetary scientists.
Episodes feature a single ECR interviewed by two complementary co-hosts: an active exoplanet researcher and a professional science communicator with experience across podcasting, radio, and television. This dual-host structure helps bridge scientific depth and audience accessibility, allowing discussions to remain technically rigorous while approachable to non-specialist listeners. Conversations explore not only scientific results, but also the motivations, uncertainties, methodological challenges, and collaborative nature of planetary science research.
A central aspect of the project is the creation of a “safe-space” communication environment, in which guests are actively involved in the editorial process and final approval of published material. This approach has proven particularly valuable for ECRs with limited prior experience in public communication, supporting confidence and communication skills while maintaining scientific accuracy and authenticity.
By foregrounding ECR voices, the podcast strengthens international connections within the planetary science community while also creating a stronger point of identification for STEM students and aspiring researchers. This helps demystify research careers and encourages broader engagement with scientific pathways and academic aspirations.
We present the design philosophy behind the project, the motivations that shaped its format, the communication and editorial strategies adopted throughout production, and the lessons learned during its development. We also discuss the practical outcomes of the initiative, including audience engagement, the involvement of researchers from multiple countries and institutions, and the role of the podcast in supporting visibility, confidence, and communication skills among early-career scientists.
How to cite: Mugnai, L. V., Millard, J., and Townsend, C.: Growing Worlds: A structured conversational framework for accessible and rigorous exoplanet science communication , Europlanet Science Congress 2026, The Hague, The Netherlands, 7–11 Sep 2026, EPSC2026-531, https://doi.org/10.5194/epsc2026-531, 2026.
How to cite: Kereszturi, A.: Comparative landform evaluation and visualization in planetary science education, Europlanet Science Congress 2026, The Hague, The Netherlands, 7–11 Sep 2026, EPSC2026-62, https://doi.org/10.5194/epsc2026-62, 2026.
In an era dominated by smartphones, social media, and short-form audiovisual content, printed popular science books may appear increasingly outdated, particularly for younger audiences. Yet our experience from the Czech Republic suggests the opposite: children and parents are still willing to spend substantial time with books if they offer something that digital content often does not — a shared reading experience combining storytelling, humour, illustrations, and curiosity about how the world works.
Here, we present the story of Vesmírníček (“Bedtime, Spacetime”), a trilogy of illustrated popular science books introducing planetary science, astrobiology, and Earth sciences to children and their parents. Rather than functioning as traditional encyclopedias built around isolated scientific facts, the books were intentionally designed as story-driven explorations of scientific questions commonly asked by children. The core concept behind the series is simple: instead of reducing science to disconnected trivia and simplified definitions, the books attempt to explain genuinely complex scientific problems through humour, analogies, storytelling, and richly detailed illustrations.
The first volume of the series consists of 70 short chapters focused on the exploration of the Solar System. In practice, the book functions as an introductory textbook of planetary science disguised as a colourful children’s book. Readers encounter topics such as volcanism, impact cratering, planetary interiors, atmospheric evolution, planetary habitability, or space exploration technologies. Children learn why Mars is red, why volcanoes erupt, why some moons may hide underground oceans, or how scientists search for traces of life elsewhere in the Universe. However, these concepts are introduced through humorous illustrations, recurring characters of two “knowledge worms”, playful dialogue, and visual jokes rather than formal educational language. The book deliberately avoids the widespread assumption that young readers require heavily simplified explanations and instead treats children as curious readers capable of understanding surprisingly difficult scientific ideas when they are explained through familiar comparisons and clear visual storytelling.
From the beginning, the book intentionally targeted two audiences simultaneously: children and their parents. While the illustrations, jokes, and large-font humorous comments attract younger readers, the scientific explanations are sufficiently detailed and accurate to engage adults as well. The book was therefore conceived primarily as a shared bedtime-reading experience during which both generations learn together. This approach proved important because it transformed reading from an individual activity into shared time spent together discussing science, jokes, and ideas.
The first volume (published in 2022) became a major bestseller on the Czech book market, eventually reaching sales of approximately 50,000 copies in a country of roughly 10 million inhabitants. Publishing rights were subsequently sold to China, Bulgaria, Estonia, and Saudi Arabia, while Slovak and Latvian editions are currently in preparation. The Bulgarian, Estonian, and Saudi Arabian editions have already been published, and an English translation exists as well, although a publisher for the English-speaking market is still being sought.
The success of the first volume was followed in 2024 by a second book focused on the search for extraterrestrial life within and beyond the Solar System. By the end of 2025, approximately 5,500 copies had been sold in the Czech Republic, and the rights for the Chinese edition were acquired as well. A third volume, planned for publication in September 2026, will complete the trilogy by shifting the focus back to Earth and explaining the origin and evolution of our planet, geological processes shaping its surface, and the future of Earth itself.
Our experience suggests that the extraordinary popularity of the series cannot be explained solely by public interest in astronomy or geology. Instead, much of its success appears to stem from the communication strategy employed throughout the books. Reader reviews repeatedly emphasize the combination of scientific accuracy with humour, playful illustrations, accessible language, and a refusal to underestimate young readers intellectually. Particularly successful proved to be the use of visual jokes and large-font humorous remarks readable even by very young children, recurring fictional characters commenting on scientific concepts, and the inclusion of topics rarely explained in conventional children’s encyclopedias. Many readers also appreciated that the books were clearly designed to be read repeatedly rather than used only once as encyclopedic reference material.
At the same time, the project also demonstrated how difficult it is to create educational content that does not feel overly educational. In our experience, children quickly recognize when scientific explanations become forced, excessively simplified, or disconnected from the story itself. Finding a balance between humour, scientific accuracy, and readable storytelling therefore became one of the main challenges during the development of the series.
We argue that popular science books can still represent a highly effective outreach tool even in the digital era. Rather than competing directly with online content through speed and constant stimulation, books can offer something different: slower, deeper, and longer-lasting engagement with science. Our experience suggests that children are usually not discouraged by difficult scientific topics themselves, but mainly by the way those topics are traditionally presented.
How to cite: Broz, P. and Škodová, L.: From Bedtime Stories to Planetary Science: How a Czech Children’s Book Series Reached Tens of Thousands of Readers, Europlanet Science Congress 2026, The Hague, The Netherlands, 7–11 Sep 2026, EPSC2026-414, https://doi.org/10.5194/epsc2026-414, 2026.
Academic podcasting is increasingly used to expand educational models beyond conventional lectures and one-way dissemination. The narrative approach based on orality, intimacy and identification enhances and extends structured learning beyond traditional channels (Shaby et al. 2026). This abstract presents SWIMmers, a podcast-based STEAM educational tool developed within the ERC Advanced Grant SWIM project, coordinated by Prof. Elena Pettinelli at Roma Tre University. SWIMmers uses planetary science as a framework for teaching concepts and transferable skills related to planetary geophysics, radar sounding, icy moons, space missions, sound design and science communication.
From multidisciplinarity to interdisciplinarity through ethnography
SWIM, the parent project of SWIMmers, presents specific challenges for STEAM education. It is a complex planetary geophysics research, focusing on supporting the Europa Clipper (NASA) and JUICE (ESA) space missions in discovering liquid oceans underneath the icy moons of Jupiter (Pettinelli 2026). As such, it involves a variety of disciplines: geophysics, condensed matter physics, engineering, mechanics, volcanology, geology and more. SWIMmers addresses this challenge by presenting science as a collaborative process, avoiding sensationalism and reductive stereotypes of STEM as individual, masculine or reserved for exceptional talent (Starr 2018).
SWIMmers podcast adopts an interdisciplinary ethnographic approach. Interdisciplinarity moves beyond the juxtaposition of different points of view to integrate theories and methods through interaction (Cohen Miller and Pate 2019; Rossini and Porter 1979). Ethnography — doing research by engaging with a community (Becker 1998; Bourdieu 1977; Clifford and Marcus 1986; Geertz 1973; Malinowski [1922] 2014) — supports interdisciplinarity because the podcast’s curator shares the working environment with the SWIM team and follows the research process. This position makes it possible to document not only scientific results, but also instruments, routines, uncertainty, collaboration and professional trajectories.
SWIMmers connects the Performing Arts department, the college radio station Roma Tre Radio and the Mathematics and Physics department in a reciprocal pedagogical exchange. Media-production expertise helps scientists reflect on narrative, voice, explanation and audience engagement; scientific expertise enables accurate sonic and narrative models for complex planetary-science concepts. The result is not simply a podcast about science, but an implemented STEAM learning environment in which research, communication and production skills are co-developed.
Figure 1: The narrative continuum in scientific podcasting
A sonic research environment
Within SWIMers, podcasting becomes a sonic research environment - an experimental space to examine how voice, narrative and sound design shape public understanding of planetary geophysics. The podcast creates an immersive environment where the audience can connect to complex scientific concepts through listening, spatial imagination and analogy (Ruiz Arana 2024).
To create immersive environments, SWIMmers adopts different strategies: sonification, soundscape composition, and field recording.
Figure 2: using a percussive sound (Darbuka drum) and sound effects to sonify the concept of “inverse problem” in geophysics
- Sonification is the translation of data into audio signals, enabling its perception and interpretation (Arcand 2022; Zanella et al. 2022). SWIMmers uses sonification and analogies to connect inaudible signals (e.g. radio echoes) to familiar sounds (e.g. rhythm, resonance, repetition), providing an auditory scaffold for conceptual understanding.
Figure 3: The contact microphone used to record the lab’s machinery
- Soundscape composition is the creative reassembling of recorded environmental sounds to communicate and reframe a listener’s relationship to it (Schafer 1993; Truax 2021). Laboratory machinery, experimental spaces and working gestures are recorded and assembled to let the audience access embodied laboratory practice.
Figure 4: Dario (the podcast’s curator) interviewing meteorologist Marcello Petitta while walking on the street to the lab
- Field recording is the practice of capturing sounds in place, in uncontrolled conditions, to emphasise immersiveness (Feld 2015; Voegelin 2010). Rather than isolating expert voices in a studio, SWIMmers places them within laboratories and streets, supporting identification.
Together, these strategies situate the podcast as an immersive pedagogical environment where audio conveys more than pure information: it stimulates attention, creates intimacy, and supports connecting planetary science with tangible experience.
Creating an engaging and scalable educational model: collective sessions, contests, and games
Finally, to avoid reducing podcasting to passive individual consumption on digital platforms (Bonini and Perrotta 2023; Sullivan 2019), SWIMmers actively engages the audiences through in-person events. These formats transform podcasting into a participatory educational practice and a scalable tool for community listening (Lacey 2013) in classes, conferences, and public events.
Figure 5: collective listening session during the CISF 2026 conference
Collective listening sessions are a fundamental component of SWIMmers. Using a silent system with wireless headphones, up to 100 people can listen to the podcast in a shared space. A subsequent discussion fosters engagement, feedback, and co-creation. The CISF 2026 session tested this format with a student audience, combining listening, discussion and a sonification contest for future episodes.
Figure 6: A sketch of the “SWIMbox”, an interactive device presented at Roma Tre Open Night on June 4th
The project also develops gamified public activities. Prototypes such as the SWIMbox are designed to let participants explore key planetary science principles (e.g. radio echo sounding, inversion) through analogy, sound and play. These tools extend the podcast beyond the audio file and turn it into a scalable STEAM platform.
Conclusion
SWIMmers is an innovative podcast-based STEAM tool for integrating planetary science into structured learning across academic and informal contexts. By combining planetary geophysics, ethnography, sound design, collective listening and assessment, it demonstrates how podcasting can function as a scalable educational model and a space for skill transfer. Its contribution lies in transforming planetary science into a rigorous, immersive and participatory learning environment.
How to cite: Galleana, D. and Perrotta, M.: SWIMmers: Podcasting Planetary Geophysics as a Scalable STEAM Learning Environment , Europlanet Science Congress 2026, The Hague, The Netherlands, 7–11 Sep 2026, EPSC2026-39, https://doi.org/10.5194/epsc2026-39, 2026.
This year, PRISMA (Prima Rete Italiana per la Sorveglianza sistematica di Meteore e Atmosfera), the First Italian Network for the Monitoring of Meteors and the Atmosphere [1,2], celebrates its first ten years of activity. Indeed, the PRISMA nationwide network of all-sky cameras was born in 2016, as a partner of the FRIPON international collaboration [3], in order to perform the continuous monitoring of the Italian skies in search of bright meteors and to determine the orbits of the meteoroids that originated them and, with a good degree of approximation, the strewn-field of the possible meteorite fall, thus potentially allowing its recovery, analysis and classification. Furthermore, the systematic observation of the sky, carried out by the PRISMA cameras, allows to collect useful data for meteorology and environmental monitoring, with particular reference to cloud cover and ALAN levels.
During its first ten years of research and dissemination activities, the Italian PRISMA fireball network, coordinated by INAF, the Italian National Institute for Astrophysics, deployed more than 80 all-sky cameras, recovered two freshly-fallen meteorites, i.e. Cavezzo [4,5] (01/01/2020, L5-an, 55.3 g) and Matera [6] (14/02/2023, H5, 117.5 g), and was able to actively engage its community, comprising research institutions, universities, schools, amateur astronomy groups, associations and many other local organisations. Indeed, since the beginning, the strength of the PRISMA project has been its being a cross-disciplinary research and citizen science project capable of engaging scientists, students and the general public alike.
In this contribution, we will present the latest communication, dissemination, and outreach activities of the PRISMA project. In particular, we will focus on the STEAM educational activities and teaching scenarios developed for the Erasmus+ project StAnD – StudenTs As plaNetary Defenders (e.g. the Meteor Camera Kit Activity and the user-friendly, GUI-based application PASCAL - PRISMA All-Sky Camera Analysis Laboratory, meant to present the main stages involved in a meteor detection and the possible consequent meteorite recovery and analysis through an interactive simulation and the use of actual PRISMA calibration and fireball data). Furthermore, we will present the educational game developed for the Interreg Central Europe project DARKERSKY4CE – Strategic Transnational Approach to Reduce Light pollution in Central Europe, which is meant to raise awareness on the issue of light pollution and to promote the protection of ecosystems and biodiversity by highlighting the importance of dark skies as a competitive asset for sustainable development in non-urbanised areas. Finally, we will present the “Il Cielo A Terra” (“The Sky on Earth”) exhibit, the first travelling exhibition dedicated to meteorite sites in Piedmont and Valle d’Aosta, a unique opportunity to discover six Italian meteorites through archive materials and exact replicas of the originals.
References
[1] Gardiol D. et al., PRISMA, Italian network for meteors and atmospheric studies, in: Proceedings of the IMC, Eds. Roggemans, A.; Roggemans, P., IMO, 2016, Egmond, the Netherlands; pages: 76-79.
[2] Gardiol D. et al., News from the Italian PRISMA fireball network, in: Proceedings of the IMC, Eds. Rudawska, R. et al., IMO, 2018, Pezinok-Modra, Slovakia; pages: 81-86.
[3] Colas F. et al., Astronomy & Astrophysics 2020, 644, A53.
[4] Gardiol D et al., Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society 2021, 501, 1215-1227.
[5] Pratesi G. et al., Meteoritics & Planetary Science 2021, 56, 1125-1150.
[6] Pratesi G. et al., Meteoritics & Planetary Science 2025, 60, 2125-2148.
How to cite: Lamberti, C., Barghini, D., Di Carlo, M., Gardiol, D., Novati, A., Ardizzone, P. S., Carbognani, A., Di Martino, M., Falco, C., Giuli, G., Leto, G., Morelli, M., Pratesi, G., Riva, W., and Stirpe, G. M.: The First Ten Years of the Italian PRISMA Fireball Network: Between Scientific Research and Dissemination, Europlanet Science Congress 2026, The Hague, The Netherlands, 7–11 Sep 2026, EPSC2026-638, https://doi.org/10.5194/epsc2026-638, 2026.
Explaining planetary and geophysical processes to the general public is inherently difficult. Many of the key phenomena shaping Earth and other planets — mantle convection, magnetic field, subduction, or magma–water interaction — are deep-seated or elusive as they occur over immense spatial and temporal scales, and are therefore challenging to communicate through static figures or conventional presentations alone. While modern outreach increasingly relies on digital animations and screen-based visualization, for many years, we have been exploring an alternative approach based on large-scale physical, kinetic, and visually immersive machines designed to transform abstract planetary processes into tangible experiences and engage the public in a way that will not become outdated from a technical standpoint.
At the Institute of Geophysics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, we have developed a series of custom-built educational installations that combine mechanical motion, light, sound, and direct audience interaction. Their design philosophy intentionally draws inspiration from historical fairground attractions, mechanical barrel organs, and cabinet-of-curiosities exhibits. The primary goal is not merely to explain scientific concepts, but first to attract attention, create curiosity, and spontaneously gather audiences in public spaces, science festivals, exhibitions, schools, and outreach events. Rather than functioning as passive educational aids, the installations are conceived as performative science-communication machines capable of transforming invisible planetary processes into physically observable experiences.
One of the installations, the Barrel Organ of Plate Tectonics (Fig. 1), is a hand-powered mechanical model of Earth’s interior and lithosphere [1]. By turning a crank, the operator activates the illusion of moving tectonic plates, mantle convection cells, subduction zone, mantle plumes, volcanic arcs, and seafloor spreading centres. The installation combines layered geological cross-sections, moving components, rotating wheels, and dramatic internal illumination to transform the familiar static plate tectonic diagram into a dynamic storytelling device. The machine was originally inspired by classical USGS-style tectonic schematics but reimagined as an interactive kinetic sculpture that physically demonstrates the interconnected nature of Earth’s internal processes.
Figure 1: The Barrel Organ of Plate Tectonics is a hand-powered kinetic educational installation that transforms a classical static plate tectonic diagram into an immersive physical model visualizing mantle convection, subduction, seafloor spreading, and volcanism through moving components and dynamic illumination.
A second installation, developed in collaboration with the Institute of Atmospheric Physics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, is the Magnetospheric machine (Fig. 2) — a large-scale demonstrator visualizing planetary magnetic fields and their interaction with the solar wind. The apparatus consists of a central electromagnet surrounded by numerous small magnetized compass needles that respond in real time to changes in the magnetic field geometry. Dynamic lighting and integrated airflow allow spectators to observe the contrast between Earth-like global dipolar magnetic fields and the localized remnant crustal magnetism associated, for example, with Mars. The interaction between magnetic structures and simulated solar wind creates a visually striking representation of otherwise invisible planetary processes.
Figure 2: The Magnetosphere Machine is an interactive kinetic installation that uses an electromagnet, magnetized compass needles, airflow, and dynamic illumination to visualize planetary magnetic fields and their interactions with the solar wind around planets.
We also constructed a Phreatomagmatic Eruption Machine (Fig. 3) capable of safely simulating explosive magma–water interaction. The installation uses compressed air released into a sand-filled funnel embedded within a transparent cross-sectional model of a maar–diatreme volcanic system. Activation produces a sudden sand eruption reaching heights of nearly two metres while simultaneously allowing the audience to observe the internal structure of the volcanic conduit through a transparent frontal section. The device provides an intuitive visualization of subsurface processes associated with phreatomagmatic eruptions and diatreme formation — processes that are otherwise extremely difficult to communicate to non-specialist audiences.
Figure 3: The Phreatomagmatic Eruption Machine is a compressed-air-powered educational installation that safely simulates explosive magma–water interaction while simultaneously revealing the internal structure of a maar–diatreme volcanic system through a transparent cross-sectional view.
Lesson learned
Our experience from science festivals, public exhibitions, and schools shows that physical installations naturally function as “attention anchors”, around which spontaneous audiences rapidly form. Unlike static posters or digital displays, kinetic machines encourage collective viewing, discussion, and direct interaction, often becoming natural starting points for longer conversations about planetary science.
However, visually striking machines alone are insufficient for effective outreach. Their impact critically depends on the presence of a skilled speaker capable of translating complex geophysical processes into simple, engaging, and emotionally resonant narratives understandable to non-specialist audiences. We found that the strongest outreach effect emerges when physical demonstrations, storytelling, and direct audience interaction operate together as a unified performance.
Equally important is extending audience engagement beyond the demonstration itself. To support longer-term educational impact, our institute developed complementary outreach materials including a trilogy of illustrated comics and board games focused on earthquakes, magnetic fields, and volcanoes for younger teenagers [2], an almanac of geoscience experiments for teachers [3], and paper cut-out models for younger children. All materials are freely accessible online (in Czech and English) through the institute’s website, allowing visitors to revisit the presented concepts after the event itself.
Developing successful outreach machines also requires close collaboration between scientists, artists, designers, and professional fabricators. In our experience, robustness, operational simplicity, rapid reset capability between demonstrations, and minimal maintenance are not secondary technical considerations, but key design requirements that fundamentally determine whether an installation can function effectively during public events. Outreach machines intended for repeated transport and continuous interaction with large audiences cannot be reliably built as improvised low-cost prototypes.
We argue that immersive physical science machines represent a powerful complement to digital science communication. By transforming invisible planetary phenomena into tangible shared experiences, they create a form of engagement fundamentally different from screen-based outreach alone. When combined with compelling live interpretation and carefully designed take-home materials, such installations can evolve from short-lived attractions into effective gateways for deeper and longer-lasting public engagement with Earth and planetary sciences.
References
[1] Brož et al., 2016; EPSC abstract 17908 [2] Machek et al., 2021, EGU abstract 10853, [3] Brož et al., 2025, EPSC-DPS abstract EPSC-DPS2025-511.
How to cite: Broz, P., Machek, M., Závada, P., and Píša, D.: From Barrel Organs to Magnetospheres: Developing Immersive Physical Machines for Planetary Science Outreach , Europlanet Science Congress 2026, The Hague, The Netherlands, 7–11 Sep 2026, EPSC2026-353, https://doi.org/10.5194/epsc2026-353, 2026.
Creating interactive display and experiments for the public or education, is often seen as a difficult task by scientists and communication specialists, or as a costly thing when hiring external services to build you vision – in particular when involving electronics. This statement could actually not be more wrong.
The last decade has seen a revolution in the domain of electronics components, in particular programmable ones, as well as the development of a large quantity of resources online to help the occasional crafter and tinkering to achieve their goals.
In this talk, I’ll present some open-source experiments I developed in the recent years using Arduino, an open-source platform that combines easy-to-use hardware and software. The plethora of resources available online for Arduino make it accessible to any astrophysicist, with no extra skills in electronic engineering or software development required.
Rather than presenting in lengthy details the devices I designed, assembled, coded and created, I will rather focus on the design process and describes the technology used, its advantages and drawback, as well as discuss potential alternatives or complementary tools such as 3D printing which recent technology revolution as made affordable to any institute.
I will present the spectroscopy table and the Trappist-1 lightshow devices which were created for public interactions as well as to be useful for the classroom. And I will also discuss a “Rover-making” extra-curricular activity I propose in a nearby school for children aged 9-14, including skills such as project management, 3d modelling, 3d printing, electronics assembly and coding.
Additionally, I will also discuss past projects carried at my university and the difficulty encountered with their maintenance given their earlier designs. Finally I will mention a future project going to the next level in leveraging the adaptability and ease-of-use of Arduino.
How to cite: Roger, T.: Plug, Play, Inspire: Leveraging recent electronics advancement for scientific outreach, Europlanet Science Congress 2026, The Hague, The Netherlands, 7–11 Sep 2026, EPSC2026-1377, https://doi.org/10.5194/epsc2026-1377, 2026.
The Palestine Space Institute (PSI) is a think tank established to challenge the relationship between the space industry and militarism, equip the community with tools to understand science in society, and develop solutions towards a more just future. We propose an urgent reframing of space science communication as a site for political education, drawing from historical practice by community-based, cross-disciplinary initiatives centered on climate justice, indigenous practices, and human rights research. We reflect on PSI’s implementation of this approach since 2023 and the increasing need for such interventions due to current and emerging geopolitical conditions that affect the practice of science and society more broadly. These activities include the development of community tools; global community engagement activities; and knowledge co-production centered on cross-disciplinary methods.
PSI’s framework equips broad audiences with a holistic understanding of the geopolitical role of planetary science, applying characteristics of traditional science communication to improve political literacy for the public and focusing on participatory solution-making. We argue that this collective intellectual resistance is a crucial responsibility of scientists today.
How to cite: Persaud, D. M., El-Shawa, S., Link, A., and Rotola, G.: Embedding Political Education in Science Communication, Europlanet Science Congress 2026, The Hague, The Netherlands, 7–11 Sep 2026, EPSC2026-252, https://doi.org/10.5194/epsc2026-252, 2026.
Recent statistics show that the number of papers published in all fields of science is growing exponeitially. The majority of these new papers are published on preprint servers such as arXiv, biorxiv, medrxiv, etc… Researchers, to keep up with new research in their field and competition, need to read at least the title and abstracts of these published preprints and identify the ones that match their interests. As the number of new preprints can be very high (~1000 daily in exact sciences), the time requested just for identifying which papers could be interesting (not even reading the papers) can be very high.
Tools presently available to try to identify the most relevant papers for a given researcher are in general based on keyword-based recommendation systems (e.g. google scholars’ alert system). The efficiency of these systems, although sometimes interesting, relies heavily on keywords manually entered by users (and, to some extent, by papers’ authors), with the danger of missing important part of the literature by simply not selecting the best keywords. In addition, some of these systems are also based on user’s feedback and are, in general, very bad at the beginning of their use.
The consequence of this situation is simple: many researchers do not devote the necessary time for scanning the most recent papers, and simply rely on conferences, network, social media, etc. in order to get to know new papers. This is highly inefficient, strongly biased, and can have, in the case of private sector research, strong economic consequences.
We developed a new AI-based tool that identifies for each registered users, the most relevant preprints matching their research interests. Once registered, our users receive each monday an email giving the three most relevant papers made available the previous week, as well as the list of all published papers in their (arXiv) field, ranked from the most interesting to the least interesting.
How to cite: Alibert, Y. and Marques, S.: A new AI-based recommendation system for preprints, Europlanet Science Congress 2026, The Hague, The Netherlands, 7–11 Sep 2026, EPSC2026-220, https://doi.org/10.5194/epsc2026-220, 2026.
