Exploring Science Island’s Science Public Outreach
CAS embraces its big scientific public outreach each May. They call it the CAS Science Week. It means at a certain weekend in May, every CAS institute launches its brand public outreach campaign in different ways to show and tell the public what is science and how science changes our lives.
Additionally, except for the courses prepared for the public, those CAS institutes open their labs to the public and design many room scientific experience to engage the public in. In this way, the public can see, hear, touch and experience the science.
Since CAS has more than one hundred institutes across China covering almost all the natural science subjects, therefore CAS has great advantages in doing something to help the public understand better and more about science.
As for the Science Island, we have a large group of volunteers taking different roles in science public outreaching. They are different people working on different positions. They have their own personality and diverse background. But, they come together to do the same thing. Who are they and how they understand science public outreach.
This year, we have a new program on our website meeting four of our science public outreach volunteers to see how small things that ordinary people do can bring big science to the public.
This is the first of an every-two-day series in two weeks.
ZHANG Suzhen (by HU Hailin)
Name: ZHANG Suzhen
Position: Public Outreach Management Assistant at ASIPP
“I joined science public outreach fifteen years ago and I will never be away from it.”
1. Could you please describe your job at ASIPP?
I am now the public outreach management assistant at ASIPP so I do all the public outreach related work including programs designing, organization and coordination as well as some public outreach campaign and exhibition.
2. When did you join the HFIPS’ Public Outreach? And how did you make the decision?
I was involved in the public outreach back in 2006, yes, fifteen years ago, following my colleague’s suggestion. So a new world opened its door to me and I just stepped on a new path. Two years after I joined the Shining Science Club at ASIPP that then was a small group of science public outreach，I began my new role in leading the group. Another two years later, ASIPP officially positioned me as the science public outreach management assistant which means science public outreach became a main part of my job rather only my interest.
3.Would you like to share your daily routine in science public outreach?
Based on EAST facility, ASIPP is China’s major research base for fusion science, technology and engineering. Normally, it welcomes hundreds of public visiting groups. ASIPP positions me as the science public outreach management assistant just to help ASIPP to practice its social responsibility by organizing public tour to the lab. Every tour, I will do the organization, coordinating and science-displaying work. I am also managing our Shining Science Club to ensure its smooth operation and do some training for the new. These work takes a large part of daily routine.
There are several events for science public outreach each year, like the National Science Week, National Day for Science, Science for Public and so on. Our Shining Science Club takes part in those science campaign to show or tell what is nuclear fusion and what is EAST facility and how does it work? Though these efforts, we just want to connect the public and our fusion science.
We pay particular attention to science inspiration of kids and teenagers. We believe the earlier they get access to science, the greater chance they have to work in science-related fields. So we keep on designing and developing science-related courses and displaying them in schools. We also launch some school programs, like Science Outreach in School, Science Star in School, Science Camp for Teenagers and so on. Each campaign has different courses that focus on Man-made sun, plasma physics, superconducting, low temperature, fusion-related materials, Magnetic field and robots. And also we have some scientific short videos, books and brochures. All we have done and continues doing is to increase public science engagement and understanding.
4.What does science public outreach mean to you?
It means a lot to me definitely. I have been doing it for fifteen years and to me it means connection and growing.
It connects me to a bigger world. Through those campaigns, I have been to many places that I had been to before. We, our group, went to some hilly villages which are far away from big metropolis. These places are mostly the less developed areas. We led our scientific courses to the local schools. We encouraged the students to join our in-classroom experiments through that the students can see, hear and feel the science all by themselves. For me, I also can have the chance to see and listen to others. When I spent my time with students, I was, just as like them, inspired.
And I wanna add something. I get my professional growth. I just feel I realized when I help others by bringing scientific knowledge to them. I became more and more confident when I help others.
I will keep going, yes, letting the science reach more, helping the public know more and better about what the science do and can do.
Contact:
ZHAO Weiwei
Hefei Institutes of Physical Science (http://english.hf.cas.cn/)
Email: annyzhao@ipp.ac.cn
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