Educational efforts

At the 208th Institute of the China Aerospace Science and Industry Corp Second Academy in Beijing, designers have been turning cutting-edge space and defense technologies into affordable consumer goods for the past three years.

Tang Wen, head of the institute's creative operations, said her team members have designed a host of interlocking plastic brick models, stuffed toys and knickknacks based on space and weapons systems developed by the academy. The aim is to use interesting, attractive approaches to popularize knowledge about the country's space and defense technologies among young people.

"Many accomplishments by Chinese space engineers can't be publicized because of their classified nature. My team's mission is to use creative and flexible ways to communicate the engineers' spirit and contributions to the public," she said.

A group of the nation's astronauts is involved with one of the 208th Institute's educational efforts.

Guo Lijuan, a senior editor in the institute's publication section, said several astronauts, including Yang Liwei, China's first space traveler, and renowned space experts have been invited to meet and address students from primary and middle schools during the institute's annual "Space Class" educational activities, which have been held across the nation since 2014.

"The Astronaut Center of China is very supportive of the activities and allows the astronauts to take part as long as they have time. The astronauts share their training and spaceflight experiences with students and encourage them to study hard and realize their dreams," Guo said, adding that each session with the astronauts attracts large numbers of students and teachers.

The institute also regularly organizes visits by space experts and science publicity researchers to schools nationwide, especially those in underdeveloped central and western regions, to help teachers design courses about spaceflight science and technology, according to Guo, whose job includes planning and implementing educational activities.

Wang, from Aerospace Knowledge, said such activities will inspire a generation of young people to explore those "vast, magnificent unknown parts of our solar system, the galaxy and the entire universe", and will encourage them to engage with China's space endeavors.

Ma Qian, a project manager at the 208th Institute who supervises Tang and Guo, said State-owned space conglomerates such as China Aerospace Science and Industry Corp have started to realize the importance of popularizing space culture and related businesses.

"The company's executives know that the more people we get to understand and love our space programs, the more support we will receive from the public," Ma said, adding that the company's institutes have been urged to allocate part of their budget to educational and publicity work.