Both in Europe and in the experience of the organizations involved in the project, the tendency for conducting green and or white (winter) schools and for high school courses is increasing annually. In this respect, considerable practical experience has been gained, but it has not been collected, summarized and analyzed. There is a lack of elaborated methodology and training materials available for teachers and students in high school. In addition, many high school students are already socially aware and engaged, with optimism and idealism inherent in this age. They need additional guidance and examples of behavior. Therefore the MAIN OBJECTIVE of the project, which is: Development and introduction of innovative methodological and training products and electronic training game for outdoor lessons for high school students with the application of environmental and environmental practices.The goals of the project are:• to support the professional development of teachers by providing access to methodological, training and in-game tools for outdoor lessons that incorporate innovative elements for various aspects of ecology and environmental protection;• to assist students in the acquisition of knowledge and values ​​through real and proven practice;• to create conditions for transfer and sustainability of results by ensuring the dissemination of quality, open and accessible methodological and training tools;The target groups of the project are:- Secondary schools - 3 schools are included in the project;- Secondary school teachers from 3 schools - 260 teachers in total;- High school students from 3 schools - 2273 high school students;-Scientists who participate in the preparation of racing teams by students from the high school stage.In order to achieve the objectives of the project, the following activities are envisaged:1. Project management activities, including conducting international partnerships;2. Intellectual product development activities;3. Activities for international training of students, for testing and evaluation of the methodological, training and play materials / tools developed under the project;4. Results dissemination activities, including 3 dissemination meetings.The implementation of the project will lead to the development of the following innovative environmental and intellectual results for the implementation of outdoor lessons:1. Methodological materials:• Curriculum for a school in nature - a prerequisite for the achievement of the set learning objectives;• Teacher's Book, A Teacher's Guide to Teaching in Nature2. Digital learning materials for learning through experience and play in nature, accompanied by:• A guide for conducting nature game training;• A guide for conducting nature learning games;3. Digital educational game - escape room, accompanied by:• Guide (game guide)• A methodological guide for using the game in the educational process.The expected impact of the implementation of the project will be to increase the effectiveness of the teaching process in high school courses at national, international and European level, by using teaching methods, by experiencing nature and in order to build students' ability to use in their practical life environmental knowledge and skills.The project will be implemented in partnership with three high schools from three countries (Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Poland) and one university (Czech Republic).

The main reason for carrying out the STARS project was that in the 21st century, it is essential to improve scientific and technical skills and strengthen competitiveness in Europe, which can only be achieved if the country has a sufficiently educated population. According to surveys, primary school pupils are insufficiently educated in science subjects, they lack interdisciplinary skills. In order to acquire relevant knowledge, it is very important that they learn in a conceptual structure, make observations, cooperate and make the most of current technological progress. At the same time, astronomy is included in science education only very marginally, and teachers often do not have sufficient knowledge, skills and methods to teach astronomy in an innovative way.For this reason, EXPOL PEDAGOGIKA s.r.o., the publishing house of textbooks for primary and secondary schools, has started to implement the international project STARS (Successfully Teaching AstRonomy in Schools) since 1 November 2017, the main goal of which is to support primary school teachers in teaching astronomy.The project brought together 7 organisations from Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Bulgaria, namely 3 schools, 1 renowned university, 1 non-governmental organisation focused on astronomy, a company creating innovative digital solutions in the school sector and a leading publisher of professional literature.The project focused on:•equipping teachers teaching at lower secondary education with innovative methods, knowledge, competencies and tools for teaching astronomy within the curriculum,•creating a training program for teaching astronomy, as ready to use educational tool for teacher training providers (e. g. universities, continuing education providers, observatories, astronomical associations, but also as a tool of self-development for individual use, etc.),• creating a concept of a new educational program for teaching astronomy, which reflects current trends and attitudes of pupils towards the modern teaching process,• supporting critical thinking, analytical and abstract perception in order to increase the level of knowledge acquisition by pupils, as well as the acquisition of relevant knowledge,•equipping the target groups of the project with freely available, language-relevant and high-quality educational resources for teaching astronomy.More than 3600 primary school pupils, science teachers, people involved in education, policy makers, academics and parents participated in various project activities: in the creation of outputs, their testing, validation, demonstration during workshops, targeted dissemination and their use in practice. The project lasted 34 months and further dissemination activities after its completion will ensure its sustainability.As part of the project, we implemented the following activities and outputs:- we designed, developed, tested and validated: STARS Methodical Handbook for Teachers: a handbook for lower secondary teachers teaching subjects involving astronomy; STARS Training Program for Teachers: offers an innovative and comprehensive approach to improving teachers' practical skills and providing them with further in-service training;-we designed, created, tested and launched the STARS Online Platform, which contains created outputs in digital form, which will enable the use and sustainability of project outputs in the future;-we created the STARS Concept for Astronomy Education Program, which provides ideas on how astronomical topics can be presented in a better way in terms of curriculum to pupils in the higher classes of primary schools;-we organised an online STARS dissemination conference for local and foreign participants, where we presented the outputs to the general public.All outputs are in 4 language versions – Slovak, Czech, Bulgarian and English.TARGET GROUPS: Teachers:- improving the knowledge, skills and competences of learning subjects related to astronomy,- increasing the capacity to offer interactive teaching methods and skills to motivate students to take an interest in science and especially astronomy.Pupils:- an inspiration to pursue the studies of astronomy in the future, - expanding the competencies of critical thinking and motivation to actively participate in the teaching process,- gaining relevant knowledge of astronomy.Politically active persons:- improving the ability to make decisions based on real needs and innovating curricula and curricula to meet the needs of modern societyOTHER STAKEHOLDERS:- gaining awareness of the close relationship between science and other basic skills,- directors: supporting and creating an environment for education in astronomy,- parents: supporting the child's interest in astronomy.PROJECT PARTNERS:- improving the capacity to cooperate at transnational level,- strengthening the reputation of the education sector through the creation of freely available innovative materials and platforms.