China News Service, Hangzhou, November 6 (Lin Bo) "The dinosaur fossils that could only be seen in books before were finally seen in real life today!" On February 27, 2026, Lin Jinxinyu, a student from Songyang County Experimental Primary School, Lishui City, Zhejiang Province, walked into the Anji Museum of Zhejiang Natural History Museum as a member of the first phase of the "Ling Ao Project" and stood in front of the dinosaur fossils depicted in the books.
It takes most of a day to get from Songyang to Anji, but when I actually walked into the museum, this county girl was shocked. "There are special exhibition halls such as geology, ecology, belin, dinosaurs, natural art, and oceans, etc., which helped me understand a lot of natural stories."
This is a sketch of the "Ling Ao Project". From the first event in February 2026 to the second Cangnan special event in August, a total of 100 county teenagers have entered the Zhejiang Natural Museum. Through here, they saw not only dinosaurs and the starry sky, but also a world that was previously "out of reach".
On November 6, the signing ceremony for the donation of the "Ling Ao Project" public welfare fund and the launching ceremony of the third phase of activities were held at the Zhejiang Natural Museum. Three Zhejiang enterprises signed a donation agreement for the "Ling Ao Project" public welfare fund with the Zhejiang Natural Museum, donating a total of 1.6 million yuan to carry out the "Ling Ao Project."
The third phase of the "Lingchu Project" plans to organize 100 students to participate, covering five regions: Longgang City, Wenzhou City, Haiyan County, Jiaxing City, Nanxun District, Huzhou City, Qujiang District, Quzhou City, and Xianju County, Taizhou City. It is planned to be launched after the Spring Festival in 2027.
The "Ling Ao Project" is a project set up by the Zhejiang Natural History Museum to specifically support county children to participate in research and study at the museum. "Ling" is taken from the "Tao De Jing" "God obtains one with spirit", which refers to the spirituality of life and the pursuit of truth; "樗" comes from "Zhuangzi·Xiaoyaoyou", symbolizing the power of taking root and growing. Taken together, it means "every life deserves to be seen, respected and empowered".
But for the concept to be implemented, a more specific question must first be answered: When the "museum craze" boosts the popularity of museums, is the open door really open to everyone equally?
This is where the "Ling Ao Project" attempts to solve the problem. It does not rely on one-time activities, but relies on institutionalized arrangements.
"How can we pursue a sustainable path for public welfare science popularization? How to break the limitations of one-way services and leverage broader social resources to form a long-term mechanism?" Wu Mingke, Secretary of the Party Committee and President of Zhejiang Natural Museum, said in an interview that relying on the "Ling Ao Project", the institute links social forces to allow cultural and creative industries to feed back public welfare and light up the glimmer of goodwill.
Wu Mingke said frankly that public science popularization is not only a lesson, but also a window to see nature for children in mountainous areas. “We not only take the children to watch dinosaurs and stargazing, but also guide them to think about the big proposition of ‘harmony between man and nature’.”
In Wu Mingke’s view, the focus of nature education is not just a visit, but the establishment of a long-lasting connection between children and nature.
He said that Su Dongpo said, "Only the cool breeze on the river and the bright moon in the mountains... can be taken without restraint and inexhaustible." Natural education is to put this gift of heaven and earth into the hands of children. "Such an experience may not immediately change a child's life trajectory, but it is likely to plant a seed: It turns out that the world is so big, it turns out that science is so interesting, and it turns out that I can also inquire, explore, and reach further places."
But for the seeds to germinate, children must first be present. It is more than 90 kilometers from Nanxun to Anji; it is more than 400 kilometers from Longgang to Anji. Taking the high-speed rail and transferring to the bus will save you three or four hours. For children in the city, it is a weekend that they can just go away; for children from mountainous areas, it is a long trip that they have been thinking about for a long time. Tickets are free, but travel expenses, accommodation, and time are still invisible thresholds. Some children reach their teens and have never ridden a high-speed rail, seen a dinosaur skeleton, or entered an observatory.
The difference is not in talent, but in resources.
Xu Xiao, deputy secretary of the Party Leadership Group, deputy director and first-level inspector of the Zhejiang Provincial Department of Culture, Radio, Television and Tourism, said that museums must shift from being "object"-centered to "people"-centered. The quality of a museum should not only be judged by what is in the cabinet, but also by who it leaves the door open for and who it lights up. The Zhejiang Museum of Natural History’s explorations over the years—from the “24-hour museum” to the “Five Elements Guardian Elf” IP, to the “cultural and creative back-feeding public welfare” model—are essentially doing the same thing: letting the collection resources go out of the warehouse and into the daily lives of young people, into children’s classrooms, and into the scene of public welfare.
Because of this, the public value of museums ultimately comes down to people’s spiritual gains.
At present, Zhejiang is building a high-level cultural province, a strong tourism province, and a high-quality development and common prosperity demonstration zone. Common prosperity means not only wealth in pockets, but also wealth in brains and spirit. The museum should become the city's "cultural living room", where people are willing to sit down and stay for a long time, and want to come back when they leave.
"This 'willingness' is more valuable than any number of brands." Xu Xiao said bluntly that high-quality cultural resources go directly to the grassroots, which means that culture should not always be "gathered together" in big cities, but also go to the mountains, to the islands, and to children. Use words that children can understand, things they can see, and tangible experiences to turn "knowledge" into "surprise" and "words" into "landscapes."
How can a museum that opens its doors allow more people to come in? The answer may lie in paving the way after "opening the door" - allowing resources to go to the grassroots, making the mechanism sustainable, so that every child who is "out of reach" can be seen, respected and empowered. And this may be the simplest answer to "what is a museum?"
