On the morning of March 19, the eighth "Future Scientist Class" selection test was held in the HZAU Student Center, which was jointly organized by HZAU Agricultural Popular Science Base of Life Science and Technology and Wuhan Evening News. More than 200 students came to compete for 60 "future scientists" positions.
Before the test, Professor Bian Yinbing, doctoral tutor from the College of Plant Science and Technology, made a popular science report under the theme of "a bite of mushrooms". "Hericium erinaceus is a kind of mushrooms that fall on hardwoods like hairy monkeys, which literally means monkey head mushrooms" "Have you seen a mushroom as high as 1.8 meters?" "Do you know mushrooms can make people cry, laugh or even dance?" Bian Yinbing not only introduced the magic of the mushroom world with bright and interesting pictures and simple words, but also showed Pleurotus ostreatus, Hericium erinaceus, and some other mushrooms to the children, making them exclaim time and again. At the same time, Bian Yinbing also put emphasis on the importance of knowledge for children’s growth: "All of you are like small mushrooms require seedlings, nutrition and the environment to develop and shine."
After the report, the children began a real battle. The test question was "my dream for science". Candidates were asked to write an essay about their dreams for science in the future and give illustrations. Such an open question gave the children plenty of room where their creativity and imagination ran wild, and the original ideas of science came out of the dark.
Yang Yuxin, a third grade student from TieSiYuan Primary School, was the first to finish the text paper. She shared a vision: "I want to invent a tree that can speak, so I can communicate and make a friend with it." Yao Yijun, a fifth grade student from Wuhan Primary School, favors all kinds of reptiles. Once she kept a snake as her pet, and now she also wants to keep a green temple lizard. “These reptiles have always been misunderstood by human beings because of their ugly appearance, but in fact they are not fierce at all. My dream is to be a biologist, delving into technology to eradicate salmonella in the mouth of green temple lizards. If my dream comes true, owners of the green temple lizards will never be infected by salmonella even if they are bit, and consequently humans can build a closer relationship with them.
Peng Anyu, from the Attached Primary School of HZAU, bases his dream on the governance of air pollution. "Gasoline has made the ancients' dream of ‘covering a thousand li in a single day' come true, but meanwhile it brings fog and haze. Therefore, I would like to help generate more clean energy through controllable nuclear fusion, and if my dream becomes a reality, we will have a better chance of enjoying blue sky, clean water, and everyone can embrace a healthy lung."
"Interest is the best teacher." Yu Lin, mother of Huang Yanzhuo who is a student of Wuchang Experimental Primary School said, "My son has always been fond of small animals, and he also kept a small hamster as his pet when he was in the second grade. At that time, it was a must for him to observe its living habits every day. He has also visited the KangsiNong bee breeding base, and shows strong interest in science."
After the event, each child received a gift pack, including edible fungus package, "Popular Science in HZAU" and popular science ambassador "Gigi" keychain. With careful cultivation, edible fungus package can grow into tender and tasty mushrooms.
http://news.hzau.edu.cn/2017/0320/48594.shtml
(By Chen Jing)
