IMD event promotes environmental protection education for students

Poster for the scientific popularization course “Exploration of Plant Varieties in the Garden of Prince Kung’s Palace Museum”

Poster for the course “Research on the Application of New Carbon Fiber Materials in the Conservation of Ancient Architecture”

Prince Kung’s Palace Museum, in cooperation with Beijing Wenhui Middle School, has launched two science education workshops centered on this year’s International Museum Day theme: “Museums, Sustainability and Wellbeing”.

The workshops, “Research on the Application of New Carbon Fiber Materials in the Conservation of Ancient Architecture” and “Exploration of Plant Variety in the Garden of Prince Kung’s Palace Museum”, are two examples of the museum’s science education program.

The courses aim to cultivate students’ scientific literacy, including scientific concepts, scientific thinking, research approaches, attitudes and responsibilities. They integrate core concepts in subjects and interdisciplinary concepts centered around Prince Kung’s Palace Museum, with emphasis on the cultivation of students’ methodology in science inquiry. The museum also has designed surveys related to the 2023 International Museum Day theme.

Students and teachers from Beijing Wenhui Middle School take a photo at the Grand Theatre of Prince Kung’s Palace Museum.

As part of the education program, an outreach course was given by museum staff to first-year students in Beijing Wenhui Middle School on the afternoon of May 17. Students learned about the characteristics of wooden structures in ancient architecture, as well as the advantages and disadvantages of wooden architecture, and experienced using carbon fiber materials to simulate restoring ancient architecture.

Students at Beijing Wenhui Middle School take the course “Research on the Application of New Carbon Fiber Materials in the Conservation of Ancient Architecture”.

The next morning, students and their teachers conducted a field survey of the plant varieties in the museum garden, and shared their research results with detailed analyses of the data they collected.

Students in the field survey of plant varieties in the garden of Prince Kung’s Palace Museum

The workshops are closely related to the theme of 2023 International Museum Day and aim to increase environmental protection awareness among middle school students, and impart relevant knowledge of ancient architecture preservation and harmony with the natural world to them. They also further promote the cooperation mechanism between museums and schools in Beijing, integrate museum resources into the education system, and help in building the capital into the “City of Museums”.

Students present their research results at the Grand Theatre.