During this event, I took on the role of a junior reporter, responsible for capturing every moment and smile of the children with my camera, preserving their innocence in the instant the shutter was pressed. This time, we visited Yisheng Elementary School located in Fuxing District, where most of the students are lively and adorable Atayal indigenous children. Although the school is small in scale, the little campus is filled with the pure hearts of the children, and every corner is filled with their laughter and joy.

In the course, nine graduate students from the Energy Research Institute carefully designed a variety of engaging content to introduce the children to meteorological science. The program included learning about meteorological instruments, introducing the Stevenson screen and mini weather stations, exploring the changes in monsoons, and incorporating quizzes and discussions to increase interactivity. Throughout the activity, the children showed great enthusiasm, eagerly raising their hands to answer questions. Their responses were sincere and natural, free of hesitation, full of innocence and passion.

Among all the activities, I found the most meaningful and heartwarming part to be making weather bottles. The graduate students carefully guided the students from Yisheng Elementary step by step, showing them how to place the required materials into the weather bottle and then waiting for the reaction as the bottles rested in the center of the table. During this process, each child watched intently with wide eyes, observing the changes in the bottle. Inside the weather bottle, there might be elegant little snowflakes, mischievous little water droplets, or perhaps a lazy, foggy liquid. Regardless of the changes, each moment symbolized the children’s endless curiosity about nature and their pure hearts, marking their first step into the world of science and technology.

Additionally, the graduate students cleverly integrated a water cycle diagram into a game, where the children used chopsticks to lift corresponding cards and place them in the right spots. During this activity, the children’s genuine smiles were pure and full of joy, and these happy moments were deeply etched in my heart through the lens of the camera. At that moment, I couldn’t help but look up, wanting to relive the beauty of that scene through my own eyes, greedily wishing to preserve that moment of innocence and happiness forever.

Furthermore, we visited the aquaponics system that Professor Tsai Hsi-Cheng from the Department of Mechanical Engineering had helped establish at Yisheng Elementary School. What amazed me was that the aquarium contained little river shrimp, which the local children had personally caught from the nearby river after school. Watching the fish and shrimp swim lively and freely in the tank, while the children played joyfully nearby, made Yisheng Elementary feel like a paradise, full of vibrant life and pure happiness.

Thanks to the support from various organizations, Yisheng Elementary School is gradually acquiring more professional equipment, which serves as a window for the children to explore the world. I truly believe that this program is incredibly meaningful, as it allows students from National Central University to design easy-to-understand and fun energy courses, transmitting knowledge through games, hands-on activities, and interactive methods. When I captured the moments of the graduate students patiently guiding the children, I deeply felt the value of education through the lens of my camera. As students from one of Taoyuan’s top universities, we generously gave back what we had learned to the children in the mountains, hoping to help them go further and become better.

At the end of the event, I was deeply touched by the charm of the Atayal people. After school, the children from the choir gathered at the activity center to practice unique Atayal folk songs. Their melodious voices floated with the breeze, echoing throughout the entire mountain. The sounds that reverberated through the valley seemed like the children’s pure and heartfelt song of thanks and farewell to us. I believe this was the most precious takeaway from our journey.