From university labs to local classrooms: ZJU brings science outreach to Longquan

On May 27, university professors, students, and medical professionals stepped out of their laboratories and lecture halls into classrooms across Longquan,a mountainous county in Zhejiang Province.From biomimetic robots and protein science to ocean exploration, astronomy, and medicine, they introduced primary and secondary school students to scientific ideas and discoveries beyond their textbooks.

The visits were part of “Lighting the Future with Science,” a publicoutreach initiative jointly launched by the Zhejiang Provincial Education Union, the Zhejiang University Labor Union, and the Zhejiang University Research Center for Science Popularization. Led by Zhejiang University, the program brought together volunteers from several universities and ZJU-affiliated hospitals to deliver engaging science lessons to primary and secondary school students.

TheLongquan team included faculty members and student volunteers from Zhejiang University, Zhejiang Sci-Tech University, Hangzhou Dianzi University, and Hangzhou City University, as well as medical professionals from the First Affiliated Hospital and Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital, both affiliated with the Zhejiang University School of Medicine.

The volunteers visited 12 schools, including Longquan High School, Longquan Zheda High School, Longquan No. 3 Middle School, Longquan Experimental Primary School, and Dongsheng Primary School. Theirlessons connected emerging developments in science and technology with students’ everyday experiences.

At Longquan High School, Professor Li Hanying, Executive Vice Dean of the Zhejiang University Office of Sci-tech Research and Executive Vice Chair of the Zhejiang University Young Professors Association, delivered a lecture titled “Scientific Surprises at University.” His talk offered students a glimpse into the discoveries and unexpected possibilities that university research can offer.

The Longquan visit builds on two years of science outreach in Haining, Zhejiang Province, where the program has worked with 11 primary schools. Across its activities in Haining and Longquan, the program has reached more than 100 classes and nearly 3,000 students.

According to Li Hanying, the initiative is part of Zhejiang University’s broader effort to make university science and educational resources more accessible to local communities. At the heart of the program is a relay model: professors share their experiences with university students, who then pass on scientific knowledge and enthusiasm to younger learners.

The model is designed not simply to deliver individual lectures, but to build sustained connections between university research and school education. By involving university students in science communication, the program also gives them opportunities to learn how complex scientific ideas can be communicated in ways that younger audiences can understand and engage with. For school students, itcreates opportunities to encounter authentic science beyond he classroom, broaden their horizonsand encourage them to ask questions about how the world works. Such encounters can nurture curiosity, a spirit of inquiry and a capacity for innovative thinking.

As the program expands from Haining to Longquan, its experience suggests that university science outreach can move beyond one-off visits. Sustained partnerships, combined with a relay model linking professors, university students and younger learners, can help bring university science to more classrooms and create continuing opportunities for students to engage with science.

Source: Unions of ZJU
Translator: FANG Fumin
Editor: DING Chenwei