On April 7th, 2019, a science popularization activity on the theme of "Bee Project: Discovering Nesting of Bees" was held at the Huitong Forest Ecosystem Research Station of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (Huitong Station). A total of 45 students and parents representatives from Huitong County, Hunan Province participated in the activity.

The purpose of the activity was to let students understand knowledge relating to bees. In the process of the activity, these students observed and recorded the characteristics of bees and beehives; then they collected natural materials in the forest, for example, needles of Chinese fir to create works of art in shapes of beehives. They also measured the size and area of honeycombs, understood the advantages that bees build hexagonal hives and finally made their own creative products using new knowledge they gained. By understanding the wisdom of bees, these students used their imagination to draw creative designs. Some of them made artificial beehives, and some designed futuristic buildings.

Through the observation, analysis and discussion, the students learned much from the wisdom of bees, realized the creative expression in practice, and complete the research & study plan successfully. The science popularization activity was jointly organized by the Institute of Applied Ecology (IAE) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Guangzhou Academy of Arts (GAA). The instructors included YAN Shaokui, HUANG Ke, ZHU Munan, three scientists from the IAE, LI Jian of the GAA, and four teachers from local schools in Huitong County (HU Huiling, LI Kaiyuan, JIANG Lu, RAO Yunfang). The activity designer was YAN Zuhao.

Huitong Station is a national science popularization base for forestry. Combining the forest resources of Huitong County with the intellectual resources of the CAS, Huitong Station regularly organizes science-themed activities, disseminates advanced scientific culture, and serves the public, especially local primary and middle school students and their parents.