This week concluded the science department’s wonderfully planned and executed Science Week! Students enjoyed a wonderful science week as they attended science lectures, did science experiments, presented projects, and learned about great scientists.

Science Week kicked off on Tuesday with 5th-grade students making their way to the Zhentao building lecture hall to listen to the lecture “Astronauts in the Space” delivered by Mr. Mu Yang, a specialist in aerospace education. The lecture was full of interesting factoids and new vocabularies that not a single student knew of before entering the room. Students learned the new word “taikonaut,” a recently coined term that more accurately describes a Chinese astronaut, distinguishing it from astronauts of other countries. Students witnessed the 1:1 reduced astronaut suit, surprisingly learning that the average astronaut suit costs 30,000,000 RMB to manufacture. They also came to a greater understanding of the basics of living in space, for example, what astronauts eat, how they survive in a microgravity environment, the health and psychological standards astronauts are held to, and the history of China’s aerospace explorations. The lecture ended with every student standing up to participate in the classic exercise astronauts must face: standing on one leg with their eyes closed. One move and you’re out! Many students lasted up to 1 or 2minutes, with the standard for Chinese astronauts being 8 minutes, 30 seconds.

On Wednesday, Mr. Gu Yong from the Institute of Neuroscience, Chinese Academy of Sciences introduced the amazing brain of a human being. From a chart, students quickly noticed that the brain-to-body mass ratio is far larger than other animals. Human beings have more complicated and larger amounts of nervous tissue, which helps human brains to be more advanced. However, artificial intelligence is more competitive than the human brain in memory, math, and logic. Mr. Gu comforted students that we don’t need to be too anxious about it because the most precious and unique trait of a human being is our creativity and ability to empathize.

Science Week continued with a one-week gallery with posters made by 4th and 5th-grade students about famous scientists and their research and discoveries. Students made special trips to the gallery during lunchtime and all enjoyed browsing through these posters and picking up new information about famous scientists.

Next up was the biggest event of the week, the Science Fair! This was no doubt the event that students looked forward to the most. Over a hundred 4th and 5th students stood at 40 different booths, proudly displaying posters describing the scientific research they had completed over the previous months. These experiments were wide and varied in scope, covering all basic divisions of science: Physics, Biology, Chemistry, and Psychology. Topics ranged from “Invisible Ink Pen,” “Air Powered Cars,” to “Growth Mindset’s Influence on Student Score” and “Thomas Edison’s Light Bulb Experiment.” Many students’ posters included charts visualizing data collected from their experiments, as well as in-person reenactments of their experiments. Other students bounced from booth to booth, wielding their Science Fair Passports. Many of them were wowed by the students’ ability to properly employ the scientific method in solving real-life problems. Students collected stamps on their Science Fair Passports from each booth as they carefully listened to the presentation and finished the task of the booth.

Let’s take a look at the site with our little journalists of fourth and fifth grade!

First-grade students from Shanghui Experimental School also arrived to peruse the booths with the principal Ms. Yang Rong and vice-principal Ms. Bao Guohong. Each booth had already prepared a basic Chinese translation of their experiments for our young visitors. Students spoke in Chinese to the outside students patiently, allowing them to easily understand the setup and results of their experiments or even participate in the experiment, which demonstrated excellent communication skills and teamwork.

The school administrators showed great support for the science week activities. Mr. Liu Lian, SHSID middle and primary school principal, Ms. Liu Fang, middle and primary school vice principal, Ms. Miao Xiaoling, middle and primary school principal's assistant, Mr. Shen Tianyuan, middle and primary school principal's assistant and director of grades 6-8, Ms. Luo Hua, director of middle and primary school affairs center, Mr. Ni Minxue, director of middle and primary school teaching affairs center, and Ms. Zhu Dan, director of Puxi Campus grades 4 and 5, attended the science fair. Principal Liu Lian showed great interest in the Astronomy education booth, participated in the attention span test, and recognized the importance of astronomy education.

It is our great pleasure that students’ parents also participated in the science fair this year. Claire’s dad from class 4(3) and his team at the Institute of Neuroscience, Chinese Academy of Sciences(CEBSIT) also participated in the science fair. CEBSIT presented EEG synergy games and cognitive tests. In the test, if two students are thinking of the same thing, then the EEG will support the car to go upward, otherwise the car will drop. Joey’s dad from class 4(3) presented Dr. Dow’s research on daily materials, introducing the traits and functions of different food packages.

As students walked around the Science Fair, they also encountered the Interactive Zone and the Heartbeat Zone! In the Interactive Zone were many stations that exhibited classic scientific principles and technologies. Among these stations were a 3D electric maze, a robot powered by wind, a hand generator robot, and a 3D holographic display. Students were also able to make their DIY flower bookmarks and soap! In the Heartbeat Zone, students were able to see the hatching quail egg and living frogs. On Friday, the first quail successfully hatched from the egg, giving students a sense of achievement after the difficulties in the science experiments.

This year SHSID’s fourth and fifth grade spent an entire week celebrating science, and students and teachers alike had a ball! The scientific spirit and the spirit of exploration and curiosity inside of so many students were invigorated. We wish students can keep curious, enjoy exploration and the vast sea of science.

(Written by Michael Martin, Wu Yin Pictures by Chen Qinli, Kang Nina, Shanghui Experimental School, Ginger Edited by Huang Shiyuan, Brie Polette)