Science 'soars' for young model plane makers

Wu Tong, a fifth-grade student in Beijing, was surprised to find that he could make his own little "airplane" by using a piece of paper, a straw, two paper clips and some tape.

That is what he learned from participating in "Soaring with Your Dream," an aerospace science and education project sponsored by The Boeing Co.

The project is designed to increase Chinese youths' interest in aviation science, starting at the elementary school level, to cultivate future aviation talent for China.

The nine-month program was launched in March in over 100 elementary schools in Beijing.

"My dream is to be a pilot," said Wu, a student at Beijing Second Experimental Primary School, after participating in the program.

US-based Boeing, a leading aircraft manufacturer, donated $500,000 to support the project. University professors and other experts first designed special course materials designed for primary school children, and then trained teachers from the selected schools in Beijing.

The teachers taught students about the basic theory of flying and the skills needed to make simple airplane models.

Every child who participated in the program was encouraged to write down his or her ideas about airplanes and aviation.

"A little dream could enlighten a nation. The more every schoolchild knows about aviation, the more high-quality aviation professionals we will be cultivating," said David Wang, president of Boeing China.

Wang said the project aligns with China's focus on scientific development.

"How do you create excellence in scientific development? The most important thing is to inspire. You have to inspire the children, get them interested, and then they will dedicate their lives (to it)," he said. "This project is our tool to complement China's scientific development by providing inspiration in the way of fun education."

Dongguantou Primary School in southern Beijing is one of the selected schools. Nearly 95 percent of its students are children of migrant workers in the capital city.

"Many students could not afford model planes and could not fly their dreams. I heartily appreciate the funding provided by Boeing," said Cao Yan, a science teacher at the school.

Boeing is considering expanding the project to more schools in Beijing next year.

"We hope more people will be energized to use this project as a catalyst, so that they can either use the same type of curriculum to inspire more children in Beijing and other regions, or think about other ways to inspire children in other branches of sciences," Wang said.

"Hopefully it will become an idea for the Ministry of Education to consider about how to not just make children learn, but inspire them to excel," he said.

The project is part of Boeing's Global Corporate Citizenship initiative. The aircraft manufacturer invests about $50 million a year worldwide in corporate citizenship programs. Wang said China is expected to receive more funds from the initiative in the near future.

"We feel that being a good corporate citizen should be in everything that we do. We want to make an impact on the community, not just on the market," Wang said.

(China Daily 11/02/2009 page10)