On May 26, SZBL welcomed a group of young visitors from a local school to the laboratory. The visit is an extension of science educational outreach in response to the National Science and Technology Week, serving a greater purpose to bridge actual scientific scenarios with school lessons and spark the young’s interests for science.

The visiting students were guided through the exhibition hall to learn about the development of SZBL and the significance of the laboratory’s missions to discover biotechnology and life sciences.

After the tour to the exhibition hall, the students were taken by the researchers to the imaging research lab, where they were introduced with some imaging tools for research and given some hands-on experience to observe the structures and activities of live cells.

As part of this science educational outreach program, an open lecture on Alzheimer’s disease (AD) were also delivered to these young visitors by SZBL scientist Guo Tengfei, whose research has been investigating the detection and early prevention of AD. Drawing on stories from a popular Chinese TV dramaAll Is Well (《都挺好》), Dr. Guo put complex scientific ideas into real life context to explain to the young about the pathological development of AD. He also introduced related research progress and some common prevention methods on the disease. The lecture did open the curiosity gap of the students. At the end, the students were keen to find out more and had great interactions with Dr. Guo.

Science education for the younger generation is in increasing needs to encourage teenagers to focus on scientific disciplines in the days ahead as well as to stimulate more fresh intellectual vitality. As we move further into the development course of the Comprehensive National Science Center, SZBL will spend bigger efforts to help promote science learning, and provide more innovative and authentic resources for life sciences education in the Greater Bay Area.

( *During the visit, all students and staff were required to strictly follow COVID-19 prevention measures to ensure safety. )