SpaceShip

The SpaceShip Foundation is a Polish non‑profit organization from Lublin that specialises in making science fun and accessible. Its team of mentors believes that any field of knowledge can be presented in a creative and understandable way. They teach through play, connecting new concepts to children’s existing knowledge so that “Young Astronauts” absorb information effortlessly.

SpaceShip is recognized for its Cosmic Challenge – a space education programme aimed at children and adolescents fascinated by the cosmos.

The original edition, run in partnership with Gran Telescopio CANARIAS (one of the world’s largest astronomical observatories), invites pupils to propose solutions for establishing the first human settlement in space. The winners travel with a guardian to the observatory on La Palma. The programme is endorsed by the Polish Space Agency and the Space Research Centre of the Polish Academy of Sciences (later editions broadened the challenge).

Cosmic Challenge: Pathfinder/AI targets secondary‑school students and, working with the satellite‑data company ICEYE , asks teams to devise business applications for synthetic‑aperture‑radar data. The winning team visits the European Space Agency’s Earth‑Observation Centre in Frascati, Italy.

These programmes promote STEM education, integrate space science with maths and natural sciences, encourage creativity and innovation, and develop complex problem‑solving skills.

The organisation has been also active in robotics since 2017 and is the Polish organiser of the international World Robot Olympiad (WRO), a global robotics competition involving more than 90 countries. In robotics education, SpaceShip runs LEGO robotics and robot‑programming classes for primary‑school pupils. These workshops use LEGO Mindstorms.

EV‑3 kits and various programming languages and are delivered in small groups by passionate mentors. The aim is to equip young people with skills that will be crucial in an automated future: designing and constructing robots, critical thinking and problem‑solving. Building robots in teams also cultivates creativity, project‑based work, collaboration and communication. SpaceShip organises the Polish final of the World Robot Olympiad – one of the biggest league of robotics on the world.

The WRO encourages young people (ages 8‑19) to build robots and apply programming languages to solve real‑world problems, from climate change to biodiversity The foundation’s role as sole national organiser underscores its leadership in robotics competitions in Poland.

Through its hands‑on workshops, national robotics competitions and imaginative space challenges, the SpaceShip Foundation inspires young people to see science and engineering as exciting adventures. By combining play with real‑world problem solving and partnering with leading universities, observatories and space agencies, the foundation nurtures the next generation of innovators who will design robots, explore the cosmos and solve tomorrow’s challenges.