On June 14, 2026, the "Riding the Waves of Technology, Setting Sail for a New Intelligent Voyage" Science and Technology Achievement Exhibition was launched with great enthusiasm at the Shantou Science and Technology Museum. Co-hosted by the Youth League Committee of the College of Engineering, Shantou University, the Fourth Primary School of Shantou's Waima Road, and the Shantou Science and Technology Museum, the exhibition adopted a format combining "skills workshops with activity-based challenges." Centered around five major themes—transmissions, smart pulse, odometer drum carriage, line-tracking cars, and drones—the exhibition transformed abstract mechanical principles into visual, hands-on, and immersive experiences.
Transmission | The "Secret" of Gears
The transmission system, which alters rotational speed and output torque through combinations of gears of different sizes, is a critical component in automotive drivetrains. At the booth, students manually turned gear models to explain to visitors the speed differences between "large gears driving small gears" and "small gears driving large gears." Through hands-on operation, they gained a deeper understanding of the transmission logic that "different tooth counts result in different rotational speeds."
Smart Pulse | The "Rhythm" of Lights
Smart Pulse is a lighting interaction device based on microcontroller control. By pressing buttons, students could make LED lights produce various lighting effects such as "flowing water" and "heartbeat." Through repeated attempts, they experienced the basic logic of "programming to control hardware" and understood the correspondence between commands and output.
Odometer Drum Carriage | An Ancient "Algorithm"
The odometer drum carriage is an ancient Chinese mechanical invention that used a gear reduction transmission system to automatically announce distance traveled—"one drumbeat per li." By turning the wheels and patiently waiting for the wooden figure to strike the drum, students grasped the concept of gear reduction ratios and appreciated the remarkable mechanical ingenuity of ancient Chinese designers from over a thousand years ago.
Line-Tracking Car | The Car's "Eyes"
The line-tracking car uses sensors to detect the reflected signals from a black line on the ground, transmits the information to a controller, and then actuates the wheels to steer. Students placed the car on a track and observed how it "saw" the black line, determined direction, and adjusted its wheels, gaining a complete understanding of the entire process from perception to decision-making to action in an intelligent device.
Drone | The "Posture" of Flight
The drone is an intelligent flying vehicle integrating mechanical structure, power systems, and flight control algorithms. Students manually pushed the control sticks to demonstrate basic drone maneuvers including takeoff, hovering, and landing, observing the drone's reactions to different joystick inputs and developing a preliminary understanding of lift generation and the basic principles of attitude control.
The "Riding the Waves of Technology, Setting Sail for a New Intelligent Voyage" Science and Technology Achievement Exhibition achieved a complete learning cycle from knowledge input to hands-on practice through its "learn first, then challenge" design. The exhibition transformed the complex and often difficult mechanical principles found in university textbooks into concrete actions, simple judgments, and vivid analogies, allowing elementary school students to learn through play and gain understanding through active participation.
This event not only enriched the science learning experiences of elementary school students but also provided university students with a platform to apply their professional knowledge to science popularization practice, building a bridge for collaborative education between higher education institutions and primary schools.
