Around 65% of a child’s development is due to the activities and experiences they engage with outside of the school classroom. This alone demonstrates the importance of the work SySTEM 2020 is pursuing – to assess the delivery and impact of science learning outside the classroom. One of the ways SySTEM 2020 aimed to achieve this was by mapping initiatives that provide science learning outside the classroom across 19 countries in Europe.

Each partner set out to encourage at least 100 informal learning initiatives within their country to join the SySTEM 2020 interactive map, totalling 2200 map entries After five months of campaigning widely across many channels we are pleased to say we have surpassed our goal and now total 2246 map entry points – cue the confetti! Honourable mention goes to Muzeiko Foundation, Bulgaria’s first science centre, who successfully reached the target of 100 map entries. But, it is also important to recognize all the partners involved in the project, without them this goal would not have been achieved.

It is vital to look inward at the achievements made so far, from providing comparable, open-access data for research purposes to giving out a STEAM Award and providing the opportunity for Zavod Simetris - a small rural science centre in Slovenia – to attend the 2019 Ecsite conference. Nevertheless, it is time to look outward again by continuing to grow the SySTEM 2020 map and using this body of work to help us assess this environment, learn what is best practice in this sector and how we can better accredit it.

Put yourself on the SySTEM 2020 map here.