Events

2022 Neutron Science Society/Taipei Science Festival Team - Creative Science Outreach Activities

To promote popular science education, enhance the scientific literacy of elementary and middle school students in Kinmen County, and improve the scientific knowledge of teachers, the Kinmen County government and the Taiwan Neutron Science Society held an innovative science popularization event at Kinmen High School on November 18, 2022. The activities included hands-on science experiments (led by Professor Chih-Sheng Tsai and his team from National Taiwan Normal University), an academic lecture by Academician Zhong-Yuan Mou from Academia Sinica, and a master forum featuring Academician Zhong-Yuan Mou, Minister of Science and Technology Hung-Tun Yang, Professor Wen-Hsien Lee, the coordinator of the International Science Fair Project, and Associate Dean Fu-Tzu Yi from the College of Science at National Taiwan Normal University.

The event was initiated by the Taiwan Neutron Science Society, which had planned to hold an international conference in Kinmen this year. As a Kinmen native and a member of the society, Professor Chih-Sheng Tsai suggested holding the conference at Kinmen High School in order to take care of the younger generation of Kinmen and have more exchanges with the local education community. Coincidentally, 2022 is the International Year of Basic Sciences for Sustainable Development (IYBSSD), and Kinmen High School has also participated in the Taiwan Geomagnetic Measurement Project led by President Chung-Chun Yang, observing the changes in Kinmen's geomagnetic field and caring about local environmental changes. Therefore, during a visit to Kinmen County's Education Department and Kinmen High School Principal Tzu-Yu Hsu in the summer of this year, they agreed to organize this innovative science popularization event.

Taiwan has already entered the ranks of developed countries. In basic scientific research, many precise instruments are often used, such as the expensive National Synchrotron Radiation Research Center, which has made significant contributions to the study of advanced materials. However, the similarly expensive neutron scattering facility is less discussed in public. The basic principle of neutron scattering is particle collision and it can explore material magnetism. To promote the Taiwan Neutron Science Society's science popularization activities in Kinmen, Professor Chih-Sheng Tsai and his team, who have years of experience in popularizing science, designed a \magnetic Newton's cradle\ hands-on science experiment that is in line with the principles of neutron scattering. Combining the collision principle with the energy changes in the magnetization process, it is a new combination. The activity was also demonstrated by the Taipei Science Festival popular science team and was awarded first place in the poster paper category at the 2022 Annual Conference of the Physical Society of the Republic of China. We hope that the \magnetic Newton's cradle\ hands-on science experiment will lead Kinmen students to appreciate the basic principles of advanced scientific instruments and that it can also promote popular science among the public.

Activity Goals aligned with SDGs Projects