30 Million Minds in One Summer: China's Science Museums Go Viral Ahead of Nationwide Science Popularization Month

Beijing, Sept 2—China’s science museums welcomed more than 30 million visitors over the just-ended summer holiday, setting a record as families flocked to escape the heat and feed a growing appetite for hands-on learning.

The China Science and Technology Museum (CSTM) alone sold every ticket it printed, drawing 1.5 million people in 8 weeks; 9 in 10 came from outside Beijing, state-run Guangming Daily Online reported on Thursday.

Across the country, provincial museums stretched opening hours and added bilingual signs, smart lockers and nursing rooms to cope.

In Liaoning, daily attendance peaked at 40,000; in Guangxi, 17 local venues notched 1million visits for the first time.

A Shenzhou-1 re-entry capsule draws camera-wielding crowds at the China Science and Technology Museum in Beijing. Photo credit: China Science and Technology Museum

Exhibits that used to draw steady streams of visitors are now pulling record-breaking crowds. A Shenzhou-1 re-entry capsule drew camera-wielding crowds in Beijing; in Gansu, a new aerospace hall logged 21,200 visitors on its first day. Guizhou showcased big-data robots, while Heilongjiang let visitors test under the banner “Cool Science for Hot Days.”

The young visitors yelp with delight as a Leyden jar delivers its crackling shock at Hebei Science and Technology Museum—proof that science can literally make your hair stand on end. (Photo credit: Hebei Science and Technology Museum)

The boom is more than seasonal. Officials see it as a warm-up for September, China kicks off the inaugural National Science Popularization Month when China kicks off the inaugural National Science Popularization Month after the newly revised Science and Technology Popularization Law designated September as the annual celebration.

“Science museums are universities without walls,” Guo Zhe, Director of the flagship Beijing CSTM, told the reporter. “Next month we’ll turn the whole country into a campus.”

To prepare, curators swapped artefacts for algorithms: Beijing Science Center ran 120 AI-themed workshops; Jiangsu trained teenagers in CPR (Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation); Xinjiang sent mobile science vans to yak-grazing villages on the Mongolian border.

Even neighbouring rivals are sharing the spotlight. Chongqing and Sichuan linked 50 venues in a summer-long “science marathon,” while 13 organizations donated mobile exhibits to Tibet.

The numbers suggest the outreach is working. Among CSTM’s summer visitors, 49.3% were under 18—an audience Beijing hopes will power its next wave of innovation.

With temperatures cooling and schools reopening, museum staff are now resetting displays and rehearsing new shows for the September campaign. The goal, Guo said, is to pave a path for every young mind to explore science and make innovation.

Chongqing Science and Technology Museum’s summer camp “Little Scientists, Big Ideas” takes youngsters on a “Space Nest-Building Mission,” sharpening their scientific thinking and hands-on skills. (Photo credit: Chongqing Science and Technology Museum)

A Xinjiang mobile science van rolls all the way to the summer pastures of Taochagan Lake on the China–Mongolia border, where kids laugh and high-five a robo-dog under the open sky. (Photo credit: Xinjiang Science and Technology Museum)

At the Children’s Health “Five-Small” summer outreach—tackling obesity, myopia, mental wellbeing, scoliosis and tooth decay—visitors roll up their sleeves to learn CPR techniques hands-on. (Photo credit: Henan Science and Technology Museum)

Pop-up science on wheels: a Hubei mobile van rolls into village “Love Care” summer camps, turning dusty playgrounds into pop-up labs for curious kids. (Photo credit: Hubei Science and Technology Museum)

Qinghai-Gansu-Sichuan mobile science vans team up along the Yellow River, letting students light a “fire in the palm” during a hands-on chemistry demo. (Photo credit: Qinghai Science and Technology Museum)

Source: Guangming Daily Online