Science museum agreement to promote exchange of ideas

The Chinese Association of Natural Science Museums and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization will work together to promote the exchange and sharing of science resources between museums in China and other countries after an agreement was signed at the Shanghai Science and Technology Museum Sunday morning.

The agreement, signed by Dr Cheng Donghong, President of CANSM, and Dr Flavia Schlegel, Assistant Director-General of UNESCO's Natural Sciences, will benefit both domestic and foreign science-related museums, including Shanghai Science and Technology Museum and its branches.

It aims to make these museums into platforms serving the United Nation's Sustainable Development Goals through activities and cooperation projects carried out between targeted national and international organizations.

It will also promote cooperation and communication between the museums of UNESCO member states, especially countries involved in the Belt and Road Initiative. The exchange and sharing of exhibitions and education resources of the involved museums will support informal education in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).

Dr Yoslan Nur, the UNESCO representative, told Shanghai Daily that the agreement will benefit China and the other Belt and Road Initiative countries. China has accumulated experience from the development of science centers and science museums for years and can share that with other countries.

Wang Xiaoming, curator of the Shanghai Science and Technology Museum, said this agreement enables the city's science museums to have wider influence on science education and the Belt and Road Initiative. So far five countries have signed up with the Shanghai Science and Technology Museum to have the right to show its scientific film about pandas.