Science popularization: accumulating everlasting strength for the construction of a technologically powerful country

Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping as the core has attached great importance to science popularization work. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out, “Scientific and technological innovation and science popularization are the two wings of achieving innovative development, and science popularization must be placed in an equally important position as scientific and technological innovation.” Building a scientific and technological power not only requires continuous breakthroughs in scientific and technological innovation, but also requires continued efforts in scientific popularization.

During the "14th Five-Year Plan" period, my country's science popularization undertaking has achieved a historic leap - the total amount of science popularization funds nationwide has exceeded 21.5 billion yuan, there are a total of 1,779 science and technology museums and science and technology museums nationwide, and the proportion of citizens with scientific literacy has jumped from 10.56% in 2020 to 15.37% in 2024. Behind a series of data is a vivid practice of science popularization activities covering urban and rural areas and scientific and technological resources sinking to the grassroots level. It is a profound manifestation of the improvement of the scientific quality of the whole people and the service of the national innovation-driven strategy.

Adolescence is the "jointing and booting period" of life, the stage when curiosity and imagination are most active. Children always have many questions about the world: Why is the sky blue? Why do magnets attract? Why can seeds germinate? These "whys" are precisely the seeds of thinking for exploring the world and understanding science. Rich and interesting scientific knowledge can not only answer children's doubts about many objective phenomena in life, but also allow them to gain happiness from observation and thinking, further stimulating their interest in loving and advocating science.

Success is achieved through talent, and career is achieved through talent. The teenagers who look curiously in the science garden today may be the pillars that will stand at the forefront of science and technology tomorrow. We must make greater efforts to promote science popularization, let the seeds of science take root, sprout, blossom and bear fruit in the hearts of more young people, and accumulate everlasting strength for building a world power in science and technology.