Each year, our education team works to create a brand-new STEM curriculum. In our 2023 program—Wonder, campers build confidence and work together to take on four exciting challenges, exploring innovation, creative problem solving and design thinking, all while developing persistence and having fun!

In a high-energy adventure combining physics and creativity, kids design and build a mini skate park! They will have to pick out their own mini skateboard. Then, they’ll practice persistence by constructing an awesome skate park complete with ramps, rails, ledges and other features that will put their wheels to the test.

In this festive experience, kids take on the role of event planners as they learn about the importance of celebrating. They’ll investigate the science of sights, sounds and circuitry (线路) as they plan their party with light-up party hats, colorful bubbles, art banners and musical instruments. They will also learn about the efficiency of machines.

Exploring nature, genetics and adaptive innovation, kids will turn a MimicBot into an animatronic (电子动物) stuffie. After receiving their bot, they take it apart to investigate its inner mechanics and what makes it move. Once they put it back together, they will personalize their stuffies and use problem-solving skills and intellectual property to protect it from the idea-stealing Copy Cat!

The sky is the limit as kids discover what it takes to develop and run a business of their dreams! In this creative challenge, they’ll build their own pop-up shop, making decisions and using original strategies to attract customers. Children will communicate through marketing and advertising, learning how to launch and operate their own venture.

Mattel has announced the latest release in its “Inspiring Women” series, releasing a doll on Tuesday dedicated to conservationist Dr. Jane Goodall. Goodall, 88, began her ground-breaking research on chimpanzees in East Africa more than 60 years ago.

“My entire career, I’ve wanted to help inspire kids to be curious and explore the world around them,” Goodall said in a statement. “I’m thrilled to partner with Barbie and encourage young children to learn from their environment and feel a sense that they can make a difference.”

The new doll’s launch coincides with the 62nd anniversary of Goodall’s first visit to Tanzania’s Gombe National Park, where she conducted ground-breaking research on wild chimpanzees. It also comes just ahead of World Chimpanzee Day on July 14.

Her figurine (小雕像) wears a khaki shirt and shorts, a pair of binoculars and holds a notebook. It also comes with a miniature replica of David Greybeard, the first ma le chimp Dr. Goodall named and discovered making tools out of sticks. Goodall’s doll is made from ocean-bound plastic and is part of Mattel’s Inspiring Women Series, which pays tribute (致敬) to courageous and risk-taking women. Prior dolls in the collection include Ida B. Wells, Dr. Maya Angelou and Eleanor Roosevelt.

“Kids need more role models like Dr. Jane Goodall, because imagining they can be anything is just the beginning — seeing it makes all the difference,” Lisa McKnight, executive vice president and global head of Barbie and Mattel dolls, said in a statement. Barbie has also teamed up with the Jane Goodall Institute to launch its 2022 Barbie Career of the Year Eco-Leadership Team, a line of dolls with “green careers” such as a Chief Sustainability Officer and Renewable Energy Engineer. The company hopes the collection can inspire kids to learn more about green careers.

A carbon footprint is only one component of the broader ecological footprint. An ecological footprint compares the population’s consumption of resources and land with the planet’s ability to regenerate. The Earth’s ecological footprint is currently 23 percent over capacity. It takes about one year and two months to regenerate what we consume in a year.

Carbon footprints help people keep track of changes. Because footprints quantify an amount of carbon that increases or decreases based on energy use, they let people know that a new hybrid car or home insulation (隔离) helps. Transportation accounts for 33 percent of CO₂ emissions in the United States, so many people try to lower their mileage (里程). Some walk or bike whenever possible; others take public transport. Home energyuse accounts for 21 percent of U. S. CO₂ emissions, so it helps to have an efficient home. Setting the thermostat (恒温器) at a moderate temperature and installing double-paned windows lowers energy costs.

Of course, individual efforts can go only so far. Cutting CO₂ and other greenhouse gases down to safer levels requires significant government regulation. Lessening carbon footprints does let people see where they are and how they can change. Those who want to accept personal responsibility for their emissions can track their own reductions and change their habits.

Because carbon calculators ask for only rough estimates, it’s easy for investigators to approximate the footprints of celebrities and politicians. Analysts hope to uncover high-profile figures, especially those who promote environmentalism. Although performer Madonna and other celebrities have been accused of flying frequently, former vice president Al Gore has drawn the harshest accusations. The Gores’ spokesperson did not deny that but emphasized that the couple subscribes to green power.

Once known as “the sea of death”, the Taklimakan Desert has become a driving force for green development in northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. In recent years, photovoltaic (光电池的) stations have been constructed and large gardens of vegetation such as roses have appeared on the outskirts of this vast desert. This transformation has positioned (使处于) the desert as a flourishing center of sustainable development.

Under the sun’s rays, rows of PV panels (面板) that generate electricity look like a blue ocean. Tian Juxiong, head of a power station in Lop County, regularly inspects these power generation systems and monitors their daily operations on the control center’s screen. This station produces 360 million kWh of electricity annually and can meet the residential electricity needs of the 25.9 million residents of Xinjiang for around 10 days. Every year, it saves approximately 110,000 tonnes of standard coal and reduces 330,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide.

The project is also equipped with an energy storage system with a capacity of 80,000 kWh. In rainy conditions when the station cannot generate electricity, the storage facility acts as a power bank, providing energy for about two hours. Most PV and wind power stations in southern Xinjiang are equipped with storage systems to ensure a stable supply of renewable energy.

“By May, the total installed capacity for renewable energy in Xinjiang had passed 8,400megawatts (兆瓦) and an additional 8,259 megawatts of new energy facilities are currently under construction,” according to Ding Biwei, who is responsible for grid connect ion of new energy at State Grid’s Xinjiang branch.

Tips For a Great Fall Garden

A fall garden can be a great place, which allows us to revel (陶醉) in the beauty and abundance of the season. Many gardeners seem to focus on summer so much that the garden can fade during the fall and not live up to its full potential.     36    

    37     When you switch from summer growing to year-round growing, you will beamazed by how much more you are able to grow and by the abundance of your yields. By growing the right crops at the right times, your garden can be incredibly productive.

Whether for production or for decoration, it is always a good idea to look first at native plants. Plants that are native to your area should always make up a high proportion of the plants you grow. Selecting plenty of native plants that bloom in the fall helps you to boost biodiversity and they look lovely and right at home.

When trees drop their colorful leaves, creating a great fall garden means making the most of those leaves as a resource to keep your garden looking good. To make the most of fall leaves, you can use them to protect the soil and overwintering plants, to enrich the soil and fill planters or containers.     39    

Making a great fall garden is mostly about the plants you choose and the way you choose to garden. But gardens should not be entirely about hard work.     40     Covered seating areas, garden buildings, outdoor heat sources and perhaps outdoor lighting can help you enjoy your garden as much in the fall as you do in the summer.

Kyrgyzstan hosts Chinese culture exhibition

An exhibition of Chinese culture “Walking the Silk Road, Allowing Cultures to Integrate,” devoted to the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) was recently held in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.

On Tuesday, Kyrgyz Deputy Prime Minister Edil Baisalov, Charge d’Affaires of the Chinese Embassy in Kyrgyzstan Li Baojie, representatives of educational institutions of Kyrgyzstan and China and business representatives     61     (attend) the event.

Baisalov said the BRI has changed the entire region, including Kyrgyzstan. It     62     (actual) had a huge impact on the political and economic situation around the world. Li said that over the past ten years, the BRI     63     (develop) from concept to action and has become     64     important platform for international cooperation. He said that Kyrgyzstan and China have been cooperating within the framework of the BRI for more than ten years and have achieved fruitful results.

Li noted that     65     (culture) interaction and exchange are an important part of the initiative. The representative of the Chinese embassy said it is very important     66     (hold) cultural exchange exhibitions,     67     will help the Kyrgyz people to better understand Chinese traditional culture and folk customs, and also help strengthen mutual (相互的)     68     (understand) between the two peoples.

The exhibition featured stone carving with a Spring and Autumn period theme, wood carving with the theme “New Year’s Pictures,” as well     69     paper-cutting. The exhibition was organized by the Kaifeng Management Committee of the Pilot Free Trade Zone of China (Henan), the Kyrgyzstan-China Friendship Association and other     70     (organization).