Like others in the world, China is rich in fossils; the Chinese public is fascinated with fossils because they are full of charms. Nevertheless, Chinese people are also puzzled by fossils, due to the lack of basic knowledge of paleontology. How to identify fossils, what can we derive from them and what is the relationship between them and nature –a large amount of similar questions hang over paleontology enthusiasts. Consequently, it is necessary for scientists and scientific institutions to launch a website to educate the general public. In response to the public needs for understanding life and the Earth and distracting teenagers from endless games and unsuitable website, for telling and discussing life stories from fossils and dispersing knowledge of paleontology, “Fossil@NET” was initiated in 2004. We try build bridges to connect these gaps between publics and scientists, between public opinion and sciences. Our governments understand build “bridges”, that is science communication is very important, lots of institutes of CAS take effort for science population, and “Outline of National Action Scheme of Scientific Literacy for All Chinese Citizens” was published. “Fossil@NET” holds a high visitors-traffic --- the daily IPs ranging in 4000 – 6000 and PVs around 30,000-100,000. “Fossil@NET” is on the top positions of main search engine rankings by the key words of "fossils", "palaeontology" and "dinosaurs" and "the origin of humankind", "Earth" etc. A great number of web visitors have been “invited” by different keywords, and attracted by charming stories of fossil and life from home pages, and also friendly and scientific environment for “face to face” discussions from BBS.The e-Magazine, “Fossil@NET”, written mainly by enthusiasts and amateurs, has been published 12 issues, and has earned high popularity.
However, according our practice in science communication, we not only need a beautiful and firmly “bridge”, the most important is to extent the end of bridges to more and more people, and build different styles of the end of bridge to fit different people, even ask people join in to build his end.
Science is a kind of knowledge, it is not so active, it never jumps to people’s mind. We have to push it, not let it stay on desktop. It is our practice and effort on the web. For e-Science, Fossil@NET has tried effort on “interactive learning”, “knowledge pushing”, “society assembling” and “opinion leader training” so as to become a favorite cyber-world for people who like nature and life.
At the end of June, 2008, the China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC) reported that the number of Chinese internet users had reached 253 million. “Fossil@NET” with its commitment to popularizing science has become more and more prominent among internet browsers. Website visitors are able to access various resources involving up-to-date research, paleontology news, and pictures of fossils to obtain an insight into the evolution of once living creatures. Visitors are also able to take advantage of our website’s forum to share their pictures, approaches, opinions as well as dig experiences with other enthusiasts.
More importantly, a wealth of scientific articles summarized by young paleontologists in an understandable way is readily available on “Fossil@NET” for all visitors.
For “knowledge pushing”, Fossil@NET is effort for: As one of the most famous websites on science communication in China,
For “Interactive” between scientists and publics, Fossil@NET” is engaged in amateurs’ activities, and has successfully held the Fossil Amateurs’ Conference of China twice, which provides a stage for amateurs to have face-to-face communication and to discuss academic topics with palaeontologists in person. To be delighted, the second conference was reported not only by local newspapers for 10 continuous days, but also by national media such as People's Daily Online.
Solely in 2008, “Fossil@NET” has organized field trips for amateurs more than 20 times to help them gain hands-on experience in fossil hunting. These activities not only give them better understanding of ancient life, but also prepare them for further research. Some of the participants with our help have published papers on professional journals such as ”Evolution of Life”, “Acta Palaeontologica Sinica”.
“Society Assembling” is important to knowledge communication. There are over 40,000 registered members on “Fossil@NET”, and active members are as many as 7,000. In addition to discussing issues on the internet and popularizing the knowledge, they actively take part in scientific research and discovery.
“Fossil@NET” has its own team for writing and translating science news. The “fossil web report”, mainly compiled by young professionals, introduces cutting-edge technology and state-of-the-art research to the public.
Of course, scientific terms and knowledge is important. “Fossil@NET” contains a complete knowledge system on earth science, including nearly 11,000 items of science articles, and over 20,000 science photos totalling 6 gigabytes on home page. In addition, there are more than 250,000 items of discussions, and approximately 50,000 images on BBS.
Some novel techniques developed by website members have already been applied by professionals. Many new findings discovered by them have drawn attention of paleontologists and geologists.
Fossil@NET have highlights includes:
The e-Magazine, Fossil@NET, written mainly by enthusiasts and amateurs, has published 12 issues, and has earned the popularity of the public. http://www.uua.cn/english/zine.html
“Fossil@NET” is engaged in enthusiasts and amateurs’ activities, and has successfully held the Fossil Amateurs’ Conferences of China (1st and 2nd). http://www.uua.cn/Service/list-614-1.html
Famous fossils and their beautiful pictures: http://www.uua.cn/famous/. And some special issues: http://www.uua.cn/Special/
"Love heals the wound", Fossil@net’ volunteers have sent its first relief supplies to earthquake-affected areas in Sichuan on 17 May: http://bbs.uua.cn/thread-58698-1-31.html. Winter jackets and food have reached the hands of earthquake victims at Yinghua Secondary School, donated by Fossil@net members. http://bbs.uua.cn/viewthread.php?tid=63596
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