Night of fun and learning at science museum
A dynamic sand painting depicting China’s fight against the pandemic
A boy plays with a robot dog.
The city’s medical workers told stories of their front-line work against the novel coronavirus pandemic and explained medical facts behind infectious diseases during a special night tour at the Shanghai Science and Technology Museum on Saturday.
Focusing on medical science, the event featured lectures, exhibitions, movie screenings and interactive experiences. It attracted more than 1,000 visitors.
Following a dynamic sand painting depicting China’s fight against the pandemic, Jiang Jinjun, a respiratory doctor from Zhongshan Hospital, gave a TED talk.
As a member of the city’s first medical team sent to Wuhan, he said goodbye to his family on the eve of the Chinese New Year.
“We didn't know which hospital we would go to or how long we would stay in Wuhan," he said. "We just hit the road because the country needed us."
He said a bridge was built between front-line medics and the public, which is a more effective way to spread medical knowledge and raise people’s awareness of healthcare.
Doctors from Zhongshan Hospital and Renji Hospital presented plays to promote first aid knowledge, such as how to carry out emergency treatment for people with cardiac infarction.
“It’s my first time to the museum as a performer rather than a visitor," said one of the performers Chen Jiahui from Zhongshan Hospital. "I'm glad that I can spread useful medical facts to the public in a relaxing way."
Children experience VR technology.
Medical workers guide children through the virus-themed exhibition.
Doctors Liu Yizhang and Chen Yuanfang from Xuhui District Disease Control and Prevention Center guided children around the museum’s exhibition about humans' love-hate relationship with viruses.
Considered the most abundant biological entities on Earth, viruses are everywhere, even in extreme conditions such as Antarctica and deserts. They survive through replicating inside living cells, and can infect all types of life forms, according to the exhibition.
Human activity has close ties with the spread of viruses, and new viruses keep emerging and transmitting faster than ever due to urbanization and globalization. But viruses can also be used in biological control to kill pests and in genetic engineering for precision medicine, according to the exhibition.
Also popular with children were a series of interactive activities such as playing with robot dogs, making liquid soaps, making models of viruses and making works by 3D printing.
Children learn to make liquid soap.
