May 30 this year marks the eighth "National Science and Technology Workers' Day." At the main event held that day, the National Museum of Chinese Scientists officially opened to the public.

Approved by the State Council, starting in 2010 the China Association for Science and Technology, together with 11 departments, jointly organized and implemented the "Academic Growth Materials Collection Project for Senior Scientists." Over the past decade and more, the project has successively carried out the collection of academic growth materials for 674 scientists, gathering precious historical materials such as letters, manuscripts, scientific instruments, works, audio and video recordings, and related cultural relics and documents from Chinese scientists during their academic growth. It has become the largest, richest in content, and most extensive in type collection repository of precious historical materials on scientists in China today.

The National Museum of Chinese Scientists is adjacent to the China Science and Technology Museum. Integrating the functions of "collection, curation, research, exhibition, education, and publicity," the museum opened to the public starting May 30 and held a series of inaugural exhibitions. The inaugural exhibitions include one main exhibition and five thematic exhibitions, with a total exhibition area of 5,000 square meters.

Among them, the main exhibition is divided into two major sections: "Backbone of the Republic — Exhibition of Selected Treasures from the Collection of the National Museum of Chinese Scientists" and "Years of Arduous Collection, Abundant Harvest — Special Exhibition on the Academic Growth Materials Collection Project for Senior Scientists." Based on the first batch of research results of the "Academic Growth Materials Collection Project for Senior Scientists," it displays more than 400 physical objects (sets), more than 400 precious photographs from over 190 scientists, as well as more than 10 large-scale exhibits provided by relevant research institutions.

"The National Museum of Chinese Scientists is committed to showcasing the image of Chinese scientists, promoting the spirit of scientists, and building a spiritual hall for science and technology workers," said Meng Lingyun, deputy director of the National Museum of Chinese Scientists. "In the future, we will rely on the museum's collection resources to carry out more activities, distill the value symbols and spiritual markers of unity and progress in the science and technology community of the new era, and tell the world the stories of Chinese scientific and technological figures and the stories of scientific and technological development."

On the opening day of the inaugural exhibition, the National Museum of Chinese Scientists Consortium was officially announced as established, with 66 institutions, including the National Museum of China, the Qian Xuesen Library of Shanghai Jiao Tong University, and Science and Technology Daily, becoming the first batch of members. Meng Lingyun said that the consortium aims to create a resource-sharing platform for museums in the science and technology sector, providing support and services for the coordinated development of its members. In the future, it will jointly carry out activities such as collection acquisition, cultural relic protection, exhibition planning, and touring exhibition publicity.