At the peak season of winter camps, numerous primary and middle school students come to Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden (XTBG) to seek the mystery of tropical rainforest and experience science. On January 19, an activity named “Challenge scientists” increased the interest in science for a group of middle school students from Beijing.

   For the activity, students meet and interact with scientists.  It’s just like a competition between scientists, where students act as “judges”. They asked the four scientists (Prof. Liu Changning, Dr. Hu Yanru, Dr. Lin Hua, and Dr. Wang Gang) anything they want, especially about their research interests. They also asked such hot spots concerning genetically modified food, fog, and tropical rainforest conservation, etc.

  The four scientists communicated their work with the middle school students. They also communicated on the unfair allocation of education resources, which raised hot discussion.

  The students said that the activity provided a platform for them to communicate with scientists face to face. The dialogue between them increased their interest in science research.

Students challenge XTBG scientists

Students challenge XTBG scientists