IN a bid to mark the 150th anniversary of the discovery of the Periodic Table of Chemical Elements, Shenzhen MSU-BIT University (SMBU) organized a science fair Saturday on its campus in Longgang District, attracting more than 100 middle school students and their parents to attend.
The Periodic Table of Chemical Elements was discovered by Dmitri Mendeleev, a pioneering Russian scientist, in 1869. This year has been named the International Year of the Periodic Table of Chemical Elements (IYPT 2019) by the United Nations.
SMBU, the China-Russia jointly built university, attempted to honor the scientist while also promoting scientific knowledge by inviting middle school students to attend the science fair.
During the science fair Saturday, Professor O.A. Brylev, head of the Faculty of Materials Science, delivered a public lecture on how Mendeleev discovered the periodic table and told a few stories about the scientist. A researcher from the faculty, A.A. Petrov, shed light on the history of the development of energy resources, theories and applications of solar energy as well as the prospects of solar batteries.
Between the two lectures, students from the faculty showcased a handful of exciting chemistry experiments that elaborated on theories behind some chemical reactions and applications such as superconductive generators, colloidal particles, fake blood used in movies, counterfeit currency detectors and so forth.
Kozlov, a Russian Grade 9 student from an international school in Shenzhen, was one of the visitors participating in the science fair. Interested in chemistry, Kozlov found the experiments quite fascinating, and he is determined to attend the university after graduating from high school.
Some of the middle school students also joined a chemistry quiz session to win presents prepared by the university.
According to Nadezhkina Ekaterina, deputy head of SMBU’s Academic Affairs Department, organizing a science fair in Russia has become a tradition since 2006, when Lomonosov Moscow State University in Russia threw its first Science Festival, which later became the All-Russia Science Festival with national influence.
By organizing the science fair Saturday, SMBU also wished to fulfill its responsibility of enhancing Sino-Russian ties in cultural exchanges, said Ekaterina.
