NCYU Promotes Popular
Science Education in Rural Areas: Elderlies and Kids Playing Science Checkpoint
Games
To promote the
popularization of science and improve the public’s scientific literacy in
conjunction with the Higher Education Enhancement Project of the Ministry of
Education, and the Popular Science Project of the Ministry of Science and
Technology (MOST), National Chiayi University organized the science checkpoint
games, as part of the Popular Science Month, with the Chiayi County Government
on April 9th. Held at the Chiayi County Yijhu Junior High School, the opening
ceremony was co-hosted by President Chyung Ay, Chiayi County Magistrate Weng
Chang-Liang, Chen Ching-Ho, Chairman of the Chinese Science Communication
Association, and other guests of honor. As part of Chiayi County’s Popular
Science Month in 2021, the checkpoint games were joined by a total of 55
schools from 17 townships, more than half of which are located in rural areas.
In his address, Magistrate
Weng Chang-Liang indicated that MOST Minister Tsung-Tsong Wu paid a special
visit to southern Taiwan last week to discuss on issues regarding the
establishment of the Chiayi Science Park. The Chiayi County Government and MOST
plan to set up a joint promotion office by early next year. The park, scheduled
to be completed after 3 years, is expected to facilitate the industrial
development in the future.
As Chiayi is known for its
vast expanses, covering Alishan Township and Aogu Wetlands in Dongshi District,
many schools in the region are small in scale with limited human resources. To
make the wealth of popular science resources accessible to schoolchildren in
remote areas, the Popular Science Education Promotion Team of the Training and
Research Institute of Food and Agriculture, NCYU, specially designed 30
checkpoints and teaching materials this year to enable every participant to
learn about scientific theories in an interesting way. In response to the
Covid-19 pandemic that has swept the world, three virus-related activities were
designed for the Popular Science Month’s checkpoint games. The activities aimed
to provide a peek into the size, shape and structure of the virus, using
waterlines, polygons and other concrete images to visualize abstract concepts.
It also enabled the participants to have a clearer idea about the size and
shape of the virus in nanometer and micrometer scales.
According to NCYU Associate
Prof. Lien Jing-Yi, the checkpoint games this year were not only supervised by
students from Yijhu Junior High School, but the elderlies over 75 years old
from the Touzhu Village, Yichu Township. Before the event, each of them carefully
learned about the details and steps of the science checkpoint games and how
they work. The elder participants were not second to the young in their
enthusiasm for science education. Ms. Lee, who is 82 years old, said it was a
meaningful and interesting experience to be able to join the science checkpoint
games.
President Chyung Ay
indicated that NCYU, a century-old university located in Chiayi, considers it a
duty to help promote science education in schools at all levels in Chiayi. NCYU
teachers are more than ready to share with them their professional knowledge
and the education resources of the university, hoping to make NCYU the hub of
knowledge and education in the Yunlin and Chiayi region. By fulfilling the
social responsibility as a university, NCYU is devoted to becoming the backbone
of science education for the schools. He expressed gratitude to the elderly
participants from Yizhu Township, teachers and students of Yijhu Junior High
School, volunteers of the Tzu Chi Foundation, and people from other nearby
institutions for contributing their part to the Popular Science Month this
year. The event not only helped implement the popularization of science
education, but facilitated community exchanges and established a new model of
community service for the elderlies.