6th contest ‘Science-me a story’

Since 2018, five editions have been held, receiving more than 800 entries from over 40 countries. The participating stories (anonymized) are evaluated by a professional jury, which selects three winners in the Spanish category and three in the English category. The evaluation criteria include scientific accuracy, language quality, narrative style, age appropriateness, and the values conveyed in the stories. This ensures that the selected stories are scientifically accurate, have an engaging narrative, and are appropriate for a young audience.

The first edition, in 2018, received 31 stories in Spanish and 21 in English, written by authors from nine countries. In the second edition, in 2019, there were 99 stories submitted in Spanish and 53 in English, from 33 countries. The third edition, in 2020, received 107 stories in Spanish and 130 in English from 42 countries. The fourth edition, in 2021, received 124 submissions in Spanish and 68 in English. In the fifth edition, in 2022, there were 73 submissions in Spanish and 100 in English. Entries were submitted from all continents: Asia, Oceania, Africa, Europe, and the Americas.

In 2021, the winning stories from the first three editions of the contest were published in the bilingual Spanish-English book Science-me a story. All the stories in the book are written in both Spanish and English, making it a suitable tool for language teaching. Additionally, the stories are accompanied by illustrations created by SRUK/CERU volunteers who worked closely with the authors. With the same vision of bringing science to as many children as possible, the book can be downloaded for free. SRUK/CERU has organized various storytelling sessions using this book, and it is being distributed to schools, libraries, and other cultural institutions. Furthermore, we are developing audiobooks and educational guides with exercises based on the stories.