During February-June 2017 when IODP Expeditions 367 and 368 drilled in the South China Sea, three reporters from Xinhua News Agency, Science and Technology Daily, and Dragon TV sailed on board to provide live reports on the latest discoveries on the expedition ship. Through video links, they organized 4 face to face science lectures between shipboard scientists and the public. During the dock of “JOIDES Resolution” at the port of Shanghai, the China Ocean Drilling Achievement Exhibition was held to attract further public attention to the understanding of marine sciences.
Prof. Zhi-min Jian introduced Chinese ocean drilling for students of Tongji University.
Professor Chuanlian Liu communicated with Tongji Second Affiliated High School students through videos while onboard the “Joides Resolution”.
Scientist Li Li of IODP Expedition 367 gave lectures on ocean drilling science in the Tongji Second Affiliated High School.
Ocean Drilling Achievement Exhibition was held at the 6th National Conference on Sedimentology: Academician Cheng-shan Wang led scientists to visit Ocean Drilling Achievement Exhibition.
“Science, Culture and Ocean”, a humanity-literacy lecture series held in Tongji University from March to June was presented by Academician Pin-xian Wang as a key speaker. Two invited speakers were Academician Xu-hong Qian of East China University of Science and Technology, and Dr. Kang Ding, Director of the Sanya Deep Sea Institute of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Adjunct Professor of Tongji University A total of eight lectures were held on topics related to Humanity and the Ocean, East and West Culture, Science and Vision, Change Thinking (Qian Xuhong), Innovation and Language, The Evolution of Art and Humanity (Kang Ding), and others, to reveal the relationship between science and culture from the perspective of scientists. Not only had the faculty members and students of Tongji been attracted to participate in the activity, but there were a number of off-campus audiences who also made special trips to attend the lectures.
The eighth lecture of Science, Culture and Ocean ended with a group photo of teachers and students.
In recent years, the laboratory has made a series of explorations and practices in marine science popularization. The audience ranges from infants to primary and secondary school students, as well as the general public, and has produced better social influence.
Scientific popularization work and the dissemination of marine awareness have been formally included in the laboratory work plan, by setting up a special scientific propaganda team and setting up popular science job positions. In addition to continuing to operate the “Deep-sea Exploration Hall”, it will also need to upgrade the Phase I “Deep Sea Science Hall” and update the “Deep Sea Science Popularization Site”, in order to enhance the popular science capacity of the laboratory. Meanwhile, more popular marine science books need to be prepared, more marine science courses need to be built, and more ocean science lectures need to be held to promote awareness of oceans and popularize marine science and technology knowledge from multiple levels and perspectives. All this will help strive to build the State Key Laboratory of Marine Geology at Tongji University into an important marine science popularization base in Shanghai and a deep-sea science popularization base in China.