Editorial issue 35 Editorial article
Putting together that first issue back in 2006 was enormous fun but at that point I couldn’t have imagined what the journal would look like a decade later – or that I would still be leading it.
I well remember sourcing the articles for the first few issues. Teachers, scientists, colleagues, friends, people I met at the airport – I invited, encouraged and occasionally begged them all to contribute content. These days, although we still commission specific articles, we also receive many unsolicited – and often excellent – contributions. It’s great to know that over the past ten years, so many scientists and teachers have learned about Science in School and now choose to share their ideas with us.
In a recent fit of nostalgia, I browsed our archive of articles, re-reading some of my favourites. I also looked to see which articles have been most popular with our online readers; you can see if your favourite articles made the ‘top ten’ list on page 25. The funders of Science in School, EIROforum, were also in a nostalgic mood and each of the eight research organisations that make up EIROforum has shared some scientific highlights of the past decade on page 21.
Science in School has seen a lot of changes in its first ten years. Not only has our online discussion forum made way for our social media channels, but we’ve also recently relaunched the website, redesigned the print journal and created a new e-newsletter.
For me, though, the most important change has been the growth of the Science in School team – and I don’t just mean the editorial team. I mean you: our readers, authors, reviewers and translators. Over the past ten years, our small group of volunteers has grown into hundreds of enthusiastic teachers and scientists who help to make cutting-edge science and inspiring teaching ideas available to your colleagues across Europe and beyond.
One thing, however, has not changed: we welcome direct contact with you all. Which of our articles have you used in your lessons? How did you use them? Have you come across a topic you’d like us to cover? Would you like to share one of your own teaching ideas with our readers? Why not drop us an email and tell us?
