The State Key Laboratory of Estuarine and Coastal Research held an Open Day themed “Blue Sea and Green World” on May 21, attracting a large number of visitors from all walks of life.
The event started with a speech given by Prof. Zhang Weiguo, vice director of the lab, at a meeting room of the lab building at 9 a.m., which familiarized the visitors with the lab's orientation, development status and scientific research achievements.
His superior, Prof. Gao Shu delivered a lecture on popular science about the relationship between human beings and the sea. He expounded how the estuarine and coastal landforms and the change of the sea levels had affected human civilization, explained the origins of human beings from the angle of anatomy, and told the listeners that marine fishes are the earliest known human ancestors.
Gao answered questions from the interested listeners, including laborers, lawyers, office workers, kindergarten children and elderly people.
After the lecture, Associate Prof. Chen Jing and Dr. Zhang Dan illustrated the change of salinity in the Yangtze River estuarine waters with data diagrams. Children were encouraged to taste water with different salt contents to gain a better understanding.
Shown around the breeding rooms of tropical xenopus laevis and zebra fish, and glass green houses, the visitors learned about how the animals grow from fetus and carbon dioxide, salinity and water levels influence plants in estuaries and along coasts. Children made experiments on siphon and weight scaling, and observed micro aquatic organism through microscopes and anatomical lens.
During the lunchtime discussion, professors interacted with the visitors with prize-giving quizzes and question time.
After the lunch, the visitors paid a trip to the Yangtze River Estuarine Science Hall and the Wusongkou Fortress Wetland Park, led by associate professor Chen Jing and several other volunteers.
