On October 16, in the Maohua Middle School of Zhushan County, staff of the Yifu Museum carried out a geoscience popularization to help poverty alleviation. The activity offered a geoscience feast for students there.
During the event, the exhibition board of "beautiful and colorful minerals" and the exhibition booth full of fossil and mineral specimens were set in front of the teaching building. The museum donated mineral specimens and science books to the school. At the same time, the commentator delivered two science classes to 1300 teachers and students in the seventh and eighth grade. The activity greatly stimulated the children’s interest to explore the mysteries of the earth, thus warmly welcomed by the teachers and students.
"The Qinghai-Tibet Plateau was once a vast ocean, where boasted many paleontological fossils, including trilobites, crinoids, brachiopods and other ancient creatures with a history of 500 million years." In front of the science exhibition board and booth, colorful mineral pictures and over 20 typical fossils and mineral specimens attracted children’s eye. The interesting explanation not only brought the children the geology knowledge, but also increased their interest in the mysteries of the earth.
At the activity center, Dr. Liu Anlu of the Yifu Museum first gave students a science class entitled "Rainbow from the Deep Earth". Starting with the colorful colors of minerals, He introduced mineral knowledge in an interesting way. Students were attracted by myriad and magnificent minerals, showing strong curiosity to explore the mysteries of the earth and even the universe. Dr Sui Jixiang brought a class named “Minerals and Life” to students. By showing the application of minerals in Neolithic Period from their characteristics, origin, growth, etc, the mysteries of minerals were unveiled and the children deeply understand the relationship between minerals and human life. The process aroused dreams in teenagers’ mind, calling on them to think positively, dare to explore and study hard.
Prize-winning quiz warmed the atmosphere to another climax. The students raised their hands to answer the question with great interest. After the lecture, they were reluctant to leave, and surrounded the staff enthusiastically, asking questions.
During the lecture, on behalf of the Yifu Museum, Mr. Liu Xianguo, director of the Yifu Museum, donated 42 mineral and rock specimens and 6 science books to the Maohua Middle School, which enriched the collection of the school. Principal Shi Guangwu accepted the donation. Subprefect of Zhushan county Li Jie and director of Education Bureau MAO Guangwei attended the donation ceremony.
The staff of the Yifu Museum went to the Zhushan Turquoise Museum to exchange ideas during the visit in Zhushan.
On the way back, the staff of the Yifu Museum actively collected rock and mineral specimens to enrich the collection.
In recent years, the Yifu Museum has given full play to its geoscience popularization, and has successively carried out science popularization services in many primary and secondary schools across the country. The museum aims to improve the scientific literacy of students in poor areas and enhance their awareness of poverty alleviation. In the future, the Yifu Museum will establish cooperative relations with more schools and villages across the country, so as to continuously improve the ability of geoscience popularization and widely spread achievements in geoscience.
Founded in 1907, Maohua Middle School is the largest full-time junior high school in Zhushan County, with a solid foundation in popularizing geological knowledge. In the future, the Yifu Museum will continue to give full play to its resource and strengthen its science cooperation with the school, thus helping more children go out of the mountains and into the palace of science and knowledge.
