Sparking passion in popular science

BEIJING－For 11-year-old Li Jiaqi, a fourth grader at Huangyangmei primary school in the city of Yiwu, Zhejiang province, she learned for the first time that fluorescence is a luminescence in a popular science class.

Scientists and volunteers from 10 Shanghai-based research institutes of the Chinese Academy of Sciences recently brought popular science classes to two primary schools in Yiwu.

Fang Yuewen, a sixth grader from the same primary school as Li, has developed an interest in microbes. "It is amazing to learn more about microbes from the CAS scientists," she says.

In one of the science classes, two volunteers from the CAS' Institut Pasteur of Shanghai used simple terms to introduce the species and reproduction methods of microbes to the students.

They also guided the children to observe the microbes under the microscope.

Scientists from other research institutes also taught popular science classes covering fiber optic communication, nuclear power, lasers, thermodynamics, and drug development.

Zhu Fangyuan, from the Shanghai Advanced Research Institute, explains how a third-generation synchrotron radiation light source at the institute solves problems in life and science to the students.

"The children may have heard about the scientific device, but they may not know how it works," says Zhu, who hopes to inspire the students to be more interested in science.

"Many children dream of becoming scientists when they grow up," says Wang Hong, principal of Xinsilu primary school, one of the schools that had the popular science lessons. He also says that these would help children further explore science.

Zhang Wenjun, who is with the Shanghai branch of the CAS, says the purpose of the lessons is to help increase the children's enthusiasm for science in regions with relatively poor science education resources.

The Shanghai branch has held more than 20 popular science activities in eight years across several provinces, involving 20,000 students and teachers.

Xinhua