“Every child should have equal opportunities, regardless of where they live or their family circumstances,” education experts firmly believe. Yet research shows that students’ academic performance and access to quality education in Lithuania still depend significantly on where they live and their family’s socioeconomic background. One way to narrow these gaps is to give children more opportunities to explore science, technology and engineering through hands-on learning. This is precisely the focus of STEAM for Kids 2027, an educational initiative launching in Lithuania this December, which aims to engage 700 children from across the country’s regions.
Supported by the philanthropic Devbridge Foundation, the project is being implemented by the Vilnius University STEAM Education Centre and the Kaunas STEAM Education Centre at Mokslo Sala (Science Island). Through this collaboration, the institutions aim to provide students from Lithuania’s regions with more opportunities not only to discover modern technologies but also to conduct experiments, tackle practical challenges and work with equipment used in scientific research.
According to Gintarė Dzindzelėtaitė-Kelmelė, Head of the Devbridge Foundation, the decision to focus on students in grades 5–8 is deliberate.
“Lithuanian primary school students perform exceptionally well in international assessments, but by the age of 15, much of that advantage has faded. In other words, we lay strong foundations but lose ground during adolescence. This is also the stage when interest in STEM subjects often begins to decline. Geographical disparities persist as well: students in rural areas score 71 points lower in mathematics than their urban peers, compared with an EU average gap of 46 points. This divide is driven by socioeconomic disadvantage, teacher shortages, limited school resources and fewer extracurricular learning opportunities.”
Gintarė Dzindzelėtaitė Kelmelė foto by Agnė Popierė.
Data from the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) also highlight achievement gaps between students in major cities and those in Lithuania’s regions. For example, the difference in science performance based on school location reaches 65 points in Lithuania, nearly twice the OECD average. In Estonia and Finland, by comparison, the gap is just 17 points. Access to practical learning opportunities is also uneven: currently, only around half of students have the opportunity to learn in laboratories, with access even more limited in regional areas.
Hands-on Experiments and Visits to Science Centres Across Lithuania and Europe
Throughout the project, students will work in teams to develop technology and innovation projects, conduct experiments, solve practical challenges and present their ideas. At the end of the six-month initiative, the highest-performing teams will gather at Mokslo Sala in Kaunas to showcase their projects and share their experiences.
The team behind the most innovative project will win a trip to CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research in Switzerland, one of the world’s leading scientific research institutions. The runners-up will visit the Copernicus Science Centre in Warsaw, while the third-place team will win visits for their entire class to the Vilnius University STEAM Education Centre and the Kaunas STEAM Education Centre at Mokslo Sala.
“Experiencing science firsthand is undoubtedly one of the most important factors in engaging both students and teachers in the learning process. Reading a formula on a blackboard or in a textbook is one thing; testing how substances react in a laboratory and seeing scientific principles in action is something entirely different,” says Aistė Lukaševičiūtė, Director of Mokslo Sala Science and Innovation Centre.
Aistė Lukaševičiūtė, photo Andrius Aleksandravičius
According to Lukaševičiūtė, the experience of STEAM centres themselves demonstrates the growing demand for hands-on learning opportunities. In just over a year of operation, the Kaunas STEAM Education Centre has welcomed approximately 25,000 students and teachers from across Lithuania.
Teachers Play a Pivotal Role
Expanding access to STEAM education requires looking beyond students’ opportunities and considering the wider educational community that supports them. Paulius L. Tamošiūnas, Head of the Vilnius University STEAM Education Centre, emphasises that achieving lasting change also means investing in teachers, their professional development and their ability to apply new knowledge in everyday teaching.
“Although teachers certainly have no shortage of professional development opportunities today — in fact, I would say there is an oversupply of training courses — STEM teachers, who are already carrying enormous workloads due to staff shortages, often simply cannot afford the time to take advantage of them. They struggle to find time even to attend training, let alone explore new opportunities. The real challenge, therefore, is to turn this abundance of options into a coherent set of genuinely valuable learning experiences that enable teachers to put newly acquired knowledge and skills into practice in their daily work,” explains Tamošiūnas.
Paulius L. Tamošiūnas
This is where regional STEAM centres play a particularly important role. They bring together not only specialised equipment but also methodological expertise, helping teachers integrate these resources effectively into their teaching.
The six-month STEAM for Kids 2027 initiative will complement existing STEAM education activities in Lithuania. Through experiential learning, the project aims to make innovative knowledge and learning opportunities more accessible to children in Lithuania’s regions, help them discover their potential and inspire greater interest in STEM fields and related future career opportunities.
More information about initiative: https://devbridgefoundation.org/initiatives/steam-for-kids/