School activities boost students' interest in high-tech

At a high-tech show staged recently at a primary school, students were captivated by a robot dog flipping over and dancing. It even bowed and shook their hands.

"I got to touch the robot dog, and it was so interesting. I will work hard and learn more about it," said Mou Yuejia, a student at the primary school in Tonghai county, Yunnan province.

The show was part of an activity to popularize science and technology at schools, and featured exhibits about ecological protection, sci-tech innovation and instruments demonstrating how to generate wind power.

"Next we will get closer in touch with schools and present the latest sci-tech results to students to inspire their interest and help increase people's knowledge of science," said Ding Chao, chairman of the science and technology association of Tonghai county, which organized the event.

Since mid-September, some 200,000 activities have been held with the theme of raising scientific literacy among the public and contributing to building a country that leads in science and technology.

Beyond the science popularization activities, Chinese schools are also springing into action on their own. This autumn semester, many schools adjusted their science courses to align with the frontiers of new technologies and explored ways to make such classes more attractive.

Pouring water, oil and effervescent tablets into a cup, Feng Jiaqi, a pupil at a primary school in Zhengzhou, Henan province, deftly conducted a scientific experiment simulating volcanic eruptions. "As the density of water is higher than oil, the two will be clearly divided, with oil on top of the water," Feng explained.

The school added practical scientific courses and arranged more science classes for its first- and second-grade students this semester.

In Fujian province, more than 300 university-based laboratories and science and technology museums were engaged in tailoring off-campus science classes for primary and middle school students. They customized the procedures of such classes together with teachers.