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Natural Fun to the Playhouse won the second prize of the 2019 Shanghai Science and Technology Communication Awards

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On the morning of May 19, the 2019 Shanghai Science and Technology Awards Conference was held at the Shanghai Exhibition Center. Natural Fun to the Playhouse, a series of science communication books featuring do-it-yourself developed by our Exhibition and Education Service Department based on the exhibition and teaching resources, won the second prize of the 2019 Shanghai Science and Technology Communication Awards.

It took the editors Gu Jieyan and Xu Lei and 11 writers, who are employees of the Exhibition and Education Service Department, more than three years to complete the books. The 30 volumes cover the following five aspects: prehistoric life, plants, insects, birds, and scientific investigation. They are compliant with the characteristics of the physical and mental development of adolescents; contain a wide range of information and activities; and are unique for being both serious and creative. The series of books are designed to meet the interactive and experiential learning needs of children from 6 to 15 years old, and are innovative in planning concept, interactive experience, exploratory learning, and graphic creation. They have become the first hands-on experiential books in China that are readable, playable and explorable.

The series was officially published in December 2016 and had sold 83,156 copies by April 2020. The 30 courses supporting the books have been held in the SNHM for about 3,000 times, attracting about 60,000 people. These courses have also been incorporated into the curriculum system by nearly 100 primary and secondary schools in Shanghai, and become the shared curriculum of 17 science communication venues in Shanghai. They have also been included into the science communication events at 20 shops and bookstores. The series is also accompanied by a DIY kit and VR, which allows children to play with nature anytime, anywhere. Since its launch in October 2018, nearly 1,600 boxes of kit and VR have been sold. Some books in the series have also been adapted into more than 10 online educational games that combine teaching with entertainment, which have been promoted on the "Natural Adventure Online" platform on the official website of the SNHM and garnered about 120,000 views.