British chemistry teacher brings science alive in Chinese classes

A British chemistry professor has dedicated two decades of his life to teaching popular science to students in China.

Speaking fluent Chinese, David Evans has been teaching at the Beijing University of Chemical Technology for over 20 years. In recent years, he started to give lessons to primary and middle school students in Beijing, and livestream his chemical experiments to students in other Chinese cities through the Internet.

Many students take him for the KFC's Colonel Sanders at school, as he always wears a white lab coat, a pair of safety goggles, and smiles often. At his lesson, science is no longer boring. It has become a "magical journey" for children.

"I used to know little about science and chemistry. I felt like the subject was just about doing experiments in a large laboratory. It’s boring. However, after David's lesson, I think chemistry is quite interesting," said Ding Yixuan, a sixth-grade student at Beijing Zhanlanlu Number One Primary School.

This year, Evans has presented hundreds of experiments to primary and middle school students around the country. By combining the chemicals to produce oxygen, he has brought the simplest yet most essential chemical equation alive.

But Evans has something else, perhaps even more important, to teach.

"I've learnt that no matter what you do you always need to have a try. Like David said, we need to have the guts to always ask why," said Zou Anyue, another student.

Evans, as the science teacher of the class, is quite satisfied that children are developing their interests in learning.

"Hopefully that even the children who decide not to take up science and take up something else, they can use the scientific way of thinking," said Evans.

In China, reaching a wider audience means getting on social media.

Through livestreaming his experiments on one of China's hottest short video platforms, Evans has become a celebrity on Chinese social media. The breathtaking experiments have racked up hundreds of thousands of views and made him an Internet celebrity.

But looking back, his biggest experiment is China.

"When I was 11 or 12, just starting middle school, I had two hobbies, two interests. One was chemistry, and the other was China," said Evans.

Evans first came to China in 1987 and decided to settle in China. He's an inspiration to his Chinese colleagues.

"Every time on a business trip he carries a huge bag. The bag is quite heavy, and it’s about 20 kilos. The young people in our group always want to help him with the bag, but he never allows," said Guan Changfeng, school official of Beijing University of Chemical Technology.

Evans keeps instilling passion for science and creativity in the hearts of children. He said that science is all around, and people just need to try.

(Source: Reuters) 

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